Watts going on? Petoskey resident searches for answers on surging electric bill

EMMET COUNTY, Mich. (WPBN/WGTU) — If you’ve noticed your electric bill is higher this summer, you’re not alone.

According to the latest federal data, electricity costs are up 5.5% compared to this time last year.

Higher bills are not the only concern in northern Michigan.

For one Petoskey resident, figuring out ‘why’ it’s higher is becoming a mystery of its own.

Chris Goldsmith has lived at his home on Eppler Road in Petoskey for about four years.

“This is never anything that I’ve ever had to deal with,” said Goldsmith.

Like so many other Northern Michiganders, Goldsmith has been picking up the pieces following the historic late March ice storm.

“Our wiring got ripped out of our house during the ice storm,” explained Goldsmith. “My pole barn because of the ice storm, I had three trees fall on it, so that is compromised.”

After a week without power, Goldsmith expected a smaller electric bill, instead it spiked.

“I’ve been paying attention to my usage since this happened, since the ice storm, because I figured after the ice storm, not having power for a week, my bill would have went down. But it has went up.”

His usual bill of around $160 jumped to $250.

Looking for answers, he took to Facebook.

“I was just trying to see if anybody else had any issues whatsoever with the bill doubling. I wanted to see if it was just solely on my end, and obviously it’s not,” Goldsmith said.

His post got 141 comments, many from people experiencing a similar issue. “How come I’m getting a bunch of outreach of everybody else having the same problem, but nobody can confirm what’s going on?”

The big question for many, was the City of Petoskey quietly raising rates to pay for ice storm damage?

We took that question straight to City Hall.

“I work directly with department heads providing services to the residents of Petoskey, and that includes the electric department,” explained Petoskey City Manager Shane Horn.

Horn confirms cleanup from the ice storm is costing the city more than one million dollars. “That’s only in debris cleanup expenses,” said Horn.

Horn says the city is absorbing the costs and working to see reimbursement for those expenses.

“So, no fees, no increased cost has been passed down to any of our electric customers,” explained Horn.

So, if it’s not the rates, what’s driving the higher bills?

Goldsmith’s electricity consumption jumped from 896 kWh per month last year to 1,859 this year.

“It is over doubled since the ice storm, and there is no reason why it should have,” said Goldsmith.

The Public Information Officer with the Michigan Public Service Commission said a lot of customers have been concerned about higher electricity bills this summer, stating: “The main driver behind the higher bills is air conditioning use during a particularly hot summer, with sustained high temperatures and little relief overnight when temperatures didn’t drop as low as they normally would, not giving air conditioners their usual nighttime reprieve.”

But for Goldsmith, “My wife was gone on a travel assignment, and normally she had the air conditioners running all summer long. Those haven’t been running; we’ve been having the windows open.”

Not only that, but the power to his pole barn is shut off, no well water for the garden, and his personal arcade is gone.

“Now sitting down realizing what all we have not used this year versus what we have used in the past is very concerning,” Goldsmith said.

One of the few changes since the ice storm is Goldsmith’s electric meter.

“It was just put on sometime in March,” he said.

Goldsmith says the city’s utilities supervisor has been out to his house to check his meter multiple times.

“They came out, they said there was absolutely nothing wrong,” Goldsmith said.

“It’s just weird that since I had the new meter put on by the City of Petoskey, mine has over doubled. But you take the house across the street, the electrical was out, but they didn’t have to update meters, but her bill has over doubled.”

For now, Goldsmith is left with a higher bill and more questions than answers.

Goldsmith told us the City of Petoskey called him on Wednesday and said it does want to switch-out his meter.

Staff told him the decision has nothing to do with UpNorthLive getting involved; they’re just trying to be proactive and take care of their customers.

We will follow up with Goldsmith to find out if the new meter solves the issue.