Some 6,000 Columbus Water and Power customers may have been affected by an error with the water system's auto-pay system as the utility switches from quarterly to monthly billing and changes out old meters for new ones.
Columbus Water and Power said in a statement that while it transitioned customers from quarterly to monthly billing, a one-time issue with the auto-pay system caused thousands of customers to receive a new bill before the previous bill was due. These customers also received delinquency notices.
The utility said these notices have been canceled and associated fees waived.
However, Columbus Water and Power said many customers have contacted them about receiving higher bills as well.
Spokesman George Zonders told WOSU that some customers may still be getting billed for multiple months on their most recent bill, which is accurate, but said the next bill should reflect solely monthly usage.
Zonders said the utility is urging these customers to check their usage history and the number of days on the bill to determine if they were charged for monthly or quarterly usage.
On the other hand, Zonders said some customers may be seeing higher bills because the city recently switched out old meters for new ones. The city has been moving to new meters for over 300,000 customers to a new system and expects to finish up by the start of 2027.
He said 272,773 have been converted while 38,375 aren't complete yet.
Columbus Water and Power is urging customers with questions to contact customer service.
