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Don Gronning
NEWPORT – A 73-yearold woman whose electricity was shut off over a $2,000 bill she said she couldn’t pay, saw the electricity restored by the Pend Oreille Public Utility District after the woman and her son-in-law agreed to a payment plan.
Pauline Williamson said she woke up Wednesday morning, April 15, and prepared to make tea as usual.
That’s when she discovered she had no electricity.
Williamson said that she was aware of a $2,000 bill owed the PUD but simply didn’t have enough money to pay more than the $414 current bill, which she said she has paid regularly for 20 years.
PUD spokesperson Joe Hathaway said that the money was owed for electricity used for several months in 2024. He said a software problem calculated her bill incorrectly for that time.
“As a result, from September through December 2024, Ms. Williamson was billed $0.00, with no usage, taxes, or service availability charges reflected, despite her continuing to receive and use electric service,” Hathaway said in an email to The Miner. “Once the issue was identified, corrections were made in early 2025. At that point, it was determined that a substantial amount of electricity had been consumed but not billed during that period. While the billing delay was due to our system error, the electricity was delivered and used.”
Williamson said for those months in 2024, she received bills that said nothing was owed, so she didn’t pay anything. She said she thought a solar system was providing the electricity, a system she thought she purchased from Revolution Solar.
“The electric bill said $0, so I assumed the solar was working,” Williamson said.
By the time she was told she owed for the electricity, she said she didn’t have the money to pay. Williamson lives on income of about $3,500 a month, from Social Security and VA benefits from her late husband, who died in 2022. He was 100% disabled, she said.
Williamson said she has several health problems that require about $600 a month in prescriptions. Her electric bill in March was about $400, which she paid. She said she recently renegotiated her house payment from about $1,000 a month to about $850, pays a water bill of about $130 a month and an internet and phone bill of $250.
Williamson’s daughter, son-in-law and 7-year-old grandson live with her. Both her daughter and son-in-law are unemployed and get SNAP benefits.
Hathaway said the PUD had been trying to work out a plan with Williamson for repayment.
“Recognizing the size of the balance, we made multiple attempts over the following year to contact Ms. Williamson by phone and letter to explain the situation and offer solutions, including payment arrangements to make the balance more manageable,” Hathaway said. “Despite these efforts, she was largely unresponsive and declined to engage in a meaningful or productive way.”
Williamson said that the PUD wanted her to pay $250 a month on the back bill, which she said she couldn’t afford.
“I’ve explained the situation to them over and over again and they just keep saying you’ve got to pay this,” Williamson said. “And I say, you’re not listening to me. I do not have the money.”
Hathaway said the PUD uses software from National Information Solutions Cooperative for PUD billing and its customer information system. He acknowledges the 2024 billing error.
“While the error occurred on our side, under Washington state law, as a public utility district we are required to bill for electricity that has been delivered and used,” he said. “We don’t have the ability to simply write those charges off, as this would be considered gifting of public funds. Additionally, when balances go unpaid, those costs ultimately shift to other customers, which is something we work to avoid.”
Ultimately, electricity to the Williamson home was restored the same day it was turned off after she agree to pay $150 a month towards the balance owed. The PUD waived late charges.
The software problem resulted in more PUD customers than Williamson receiving zero balance owed bills.
“The only customers affected by this billing issue were solar customers, and the number of those affected was under 10,” Hathaway said by email.
Williamson said that Revolution Solar is the reason she thought the electricity bills were paid. She thought the system was installed and working. The Better Business Bureau has 140 complaints against the company listed on its website.
Williamson was sent a termination of service for nonpayment notice from the PUD March 31, asking her to pay the total past due amount to avoid interruption of service. The PUD then sent her a letter dated April 9 with several options to resolve the unpaid bill, noting they had been unable to reach her.
The PUD offered three options. She could pay the total past due amount, and the late fees would be reversed. She could enter into a contract to pay $240 a month (1/8 of the bill) or she could switch to prepay billing.
The PUD said in the letter that they were willing to work with her, but that by law were required to recover the cost of electricity used. The letter closed noting that she had to notify them by April 14 to avoid disconnection of service.
