A lot of people open their utility bill and feel irritated, but WMAR-2 News reporter Mallory Sofastaii describes a Baltimore-area case where the number wasn’t annoying—it was shocking.
The homeowner, Donn Deitemyer, told Sofastaii he went from a normal winter routine to a full-on panic when a bill arrived showing $7,000 in charges, the kind of figure that makes you stare at the page like it has to be a printing error.
In Deitemyer’s case, Sofastaii explains, the trouble wasn’t just rising rates or a cold snap; it was a mistake inside the home that quietly ran up costs for months, and it started with something many homeowners install without a second thought: a new thermostat.
A Bill That Stayed Calm… Until It Didn’t
Sofastaii reports that for most of the winter, Deitemyer’s bill looked steady because he was on budget billing, paying around $300 a month, which can feel like a financial seatbelt when the weather turns brutal.
Then spring arrived, and with it came the moment budget billing can deliver like a punch: when the utility recalculates your actual usage and “true-ups” what you owe…