A New York woman was outraged after a tireless fight with her electric company ended in a shocking discovery - she had been paying her neighbor's bill all along.
Nicole Niceforo's electric bill with Con Edison skyrocketed 10 years ago for her New York apartment, motivating her to conserve energy in a desperate attempt to cut costs.
Niceforo told local Fox affiliate Fox 5 New York that she requested a technician inspect her Con Ed meter in September 2016, when she first suspected something was off.
'I spent a lot of time and energy repeatedly calling them… It's frustration beyond belief,' she recalled.
Niceforo said she spent a decade fearing using her air conditioner, sweltering in the intense heat and even unplugging electronics or appliances when she left to lower her electric bill.
She sent multiple emails to Con Ed but was told the rising costs were due to summer temperatures and other external factors.
Con Ed directed her to building management, who tested the meter by asking her to turn on her microwave to confirm it was working.
Since the meter worked, she went on paying her electric bills until nine years later, when she pushed for another test.
Nicole Niceforo was forced to conserve energy for years to lower her massive electric bill, only to find out that the wiring on her meter was mixed up with her neighbor's
Niceforo kept her air conditioning down for a decade and suffered in the heat, but her bill never went down
That's when her building manager realized that her meter was wired to a different apartment and she had been paying her neighbor's bills for the past decade.
Niceforo raised the issue with Con Ed, which acknowledged the error and sent her corrected bills, and the difference was shocking. One month, she was charged just under $180, when her actual bill was only $41.
The New Yorker said she was 'outraged' by the error. Con Ed reimbursed her $6,000 but could only reimburse her for the last six years because of company policy.
Con Ed said in a statement to Fox 5: 'Con Edison values its customers and works with them if they believe their energy use is not correctly reflected on their bill.'
The company added that the meter's electrical equipment is generally the building owner's responsibility.
A Con Ed technician fixed the wiring and reimbursed her for six years, which is the company's statute of limitations (file photo)
Niceforo is not the only New Yorker who was falsely charged by Con Ed.
Another Queens resident, Nicole, told the City Reporter in 2024 that she noticed her bills were off when she first went on vacation and her charges remained the same.
It was not until she had been living in her apartment for a year when her neighbors went away, and her 'usage dropped to nothing.'
A Con Ed technician later came to the building and confirmed the wiring mix-up. The company said at the time that these mistakes were rare.
Jacob Mnookin, a Brooklyn resident, also told the City Reporter that Con Ed started charging him for his tenants' electricity after they installed solar equipment.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Con Ed for additional comment.
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