Her August Power Bill Was Only $111, Yet Her September Bill Jumped to $731 With Seemingly No Reason. What Happened to This Killeen, Texas Resident?

Thuy Wheaton from Killeen, Texas has been left with plenty of questions after her power bill price increased from a normal level to one that she cannot afford to pay. Here's what is known at the time of writing.

Why Was This Killeen Resident's Power Bill So Large?

According to KWTX, Wheaton paid, at most, under 120 dollars for her power usage. She's with the company Ambit, and paying $111 for her previous bill, expected around the same amount for her next one. However, she was simply caught off guard when her bill for the month of September jumped in price to $731.

Wheaton, to say the least, didn't do anything, in her own words, that would cause the jump:

“I’m gone Monday through Friday and only home at night for a couple of hours. I watch TV and go to bed but I don’t know why it goes up to 700 and something dollars - and I can’t afford to pay that."

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A friend of Wheaton also expressed their displeasure to KWTX, especially in regards to the growth of the power usage on the power bill, which was reported as "537 kilowatt hours" to 3,823 "kilowatt hours."

Is Ambit Investigating the Power Bill Issue?

KWTX, when they notified Ambit of the issue, received a recap of the situation, starting on September 24th, 2024. That's when Wheaton alerted the company of the high bills. Ambit, on September 30th, requested a test of Wheaton's meter from Oncor.

Oncor ran the test that was requested on October 7th, which revealed the meter was in working order. Following that revelation, Ambit challenged the alleged high usage on the same day with Oncor. Two days later, on October 9th, Oncor found no issues with the bill stating “the consumption is based upon actual reads registered on the meter. No billing adjustments are warranted.”

After that Ambit reached out to Wheaton, via customer service, presenting her with a $50 courtesy credit, and additional information on how she could find help paying the large bill. While on the phone, Wheaton revealed her AC was improperly working, which was serviced by the apartment complex she lived in.

Ambit stated about the AC issue:

"This reported equipment issue with her A/C aligns with the usage patterns we see: before Sept. 28, her daily usage was ~170 kWh per day or more. Then, starting on Sept. 28, the daily usage went down to 8 – 26 kWh per day, indicative of an A/C repair."

As this is a developing story, we will have more information when it becomes available.