NZ Woman's Weekly  Power: meter reading versus estimate  I
recently received a power bill for $2117.89. I thought it must
have been a mistake. I rang the power company and it turns out
their latest meter reading was the first actual reading of my
meter in over two and a half years. Previous bills had been
based on estimates only. I cannot understand why there had to be
so many estimates. The meter is outside the house, there is no
fence, animals or obstacles. Should I have to pay the full
amount?  The invoices you were sent should have indicated
whether they were estimates or readings. If they stated they
were based on estimates only, you needed to be aware that they
could fall well short of the actual amount of power used and you
might get a big bill later. You should really have contacted the
power company earlier to get an actual reading and to find out
why so many of the bills were estimates. But it is a mystery why
the power company hasn’t been reading your meter for so long.
You need to question them