Rogue JEA Meter Reader Fired, Customers’ Bills Affected
DOWNTOWN JACKSON — A “rogue” contracted JEA employee has been fired after improperly reading meters, directly affecting the bills of customers. According to Steve Bowers, communications manager at JEA, the employee was fired in April, but the effects of the improper meter reads will last until this billing cycle. “The meter runs and the meter’s accurate,” Bowers said. “The meter doesn’t lie. So it’s just a matter of adjusting that and being sensitive to the fact of the error,” The employee was improperly performing meter reads for JEA, causing customers’ bills to be drastically lower or higher than they should have been. “It’s almost like being a teller at a bank. The one things that’s got to be accurate and be done right,” Bowers said. Bowers said the meter reader was one of 12 contracted out by Heath Consultant Meter Readers in Nashville. Lindsey Barnett said when she first opened her bill for this month, she started crying. “On top of bills we have alone we’re expecting a child in September. I mean, there’s no way we can get by with paying $700 on a light bill. That is outrageous,” Barnett said. She said she used to watch the worker pass over her house and not actually read her meter. “It actually frustrated me because we’re being treated as ‘they have no other choice’. So they just go about it how they want to,” she said. Bowers said the customers who have a lower bill than their meter reads will have to pay the difference. The customers who overpaid will get a credit on their next bill. JEA said it is now in the final phase of pinpointing which customers were affected by these incorrect readings. They say if you were effected by these inaccuracies you will see a $10 credit on your next utility bill. The meter reader worked 22 routes out of 251. The areas included in the routes are: Beech Bluff, East Jackson, Hollywood, Airways, Old Hickory, Three Way, Evergreen Subdivision, Springbrook, Raleigh Place, and University Parkway
