SAN ANTONIO — Amelia Galvan lives in a small one-bedroom apartment at The Mirabella Senior Apartment Homes.
She normally gets an electric bill around $100 in the spring, and $150 in the summer. It allows her to stay in-budget.
"I'm retired. Retirement is about the only income I get," Galvan said.
So when Galvan got a $216 electric bill in February and then a $390 bill in March, she didn't know what to do.
“I was just shocked… Like what happened here? Somethings wrong... I didn’t know what to think,” Galvan said.
Galvan said she called both CPS Energy and her apartment's management but no one could find an issue with the meter or anything else. Finally, she called KENS 5.
"I called KENS 5 because I've seen you on TV solving problems," Galvan said.
KENS 5 reached out to CPS Energy, and Galvan said the utility then sent three technicians out to the complex to check the meter and the connection to the apartment.
She appreciated the response, but the technicians still couldn't find anything wrong on their end. At the same time, CPS Energy did find out that Galvan's air conditioner had previously been having issues.
CPS told KENS 5 via email:
"CPS Energy had a technician out to Ms. Galvan’s property to check her meter this morning and reported no malfunctions, meaning her meter has been running accurately. CPS Energy contacted Ms. Galvan to help her understand her bill as well as place her on an installment plan to assist her in paying her bill. During the time of increased usage, Ms. Galvan was experiencing issues with her air conditioning system not cooling. Her apartment complex assisted her in fixing her air conditioning unit and her usage decreased back to normal levels."
KENS 5 then reached out to The Mirabella Senior Apartment Homes to find out how long Galvan's air conditioner had been experiencing an issue. The complex referred us to their property management company, The NRP Group, but that company did not respond to our calls or email.
Still, the company did later call Galvan back. Galvan said the corporate office agreed to reimburse her by subtracting the excess bill amount from her rent. She told KENS 5 the corporate office then followed though and she was able to stay in budget.
"They reimbursed me by crediting my account for my rent and it balanced out," Galvan said. "It was a relief that I didn't have to pay all that. I mean a big relief."
The NRP Group later sent KENS 5 an email stating, "We received your request about the Mirabella resident’s electric bill. We can confirm that our team worked with Ms. Galvan to resolve the issue."
Galvan said she is grateful for the help and she's glad she called KENS 5.
"I've never in my life got a bill like that," Galvan said. "We resolved it... thanks to KENS."
If you have a problem like this, we want to help you fix it! In our series, Call KENS, we do our best to solve problems for our viewers. The number to call is 210-470-KENS, or fill out the form on this page.
