
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 2, 1994                   TAG: 9404020173
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HOPEWELL                                LENGTH: Short

100 CUSTOMERS PAY PRICE FOR MISREAD METER

Commonwealth Gas Co. issued corrected bills to about 100 customers who had been charged too little because of a meter reader's error, shocking some customers with bills two or three times their usual size.

Christine Callis said she received a $308 bill for a house she was renovating, despite keeping the thermostat set at 58 degrees.

"It's just outrageous," she said.

The meter reader misread the amount of gas used in January. The mistake also threw off the utility's estimates of gas use in February, said Bob Innes, general manager of Commonwealth Gas.

by CNB