ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis electric company is facing a legal battle after it allegedly overcharged thousands of clients.
Independence Power & Light was sued on Dec. 3 by the Accurso Law Firm on behalf of the wronged clients. Allegedly, both city officials and employees of the power company failed to solve problems that began after a new billing system was installed.
Peter Vujin, a Miami-based attorney said the case was about competing interests in the supply of public utilities.
"The most disturbing issue here, hidden from plain sight, is the tacit privatization of public utilities," Vujin told the St. Louis Record. "This is a clear-cut situation where the private and parochial interests take precedence over public interests, since there is so much money involved."
According to KSHB, some clients' bills were so high that they had to take drastic measures to avoid using the electric company's services, such as one woman who covered all of her windows with sheets and slept downstairs to make the temperature more bearable.
Vujin said that the questionable billing system should not be forgotten about in this case.
"Once private companies get the right to bill, there is no oversight by any public body, and the only recourse are the courts," Vujin said. "We all know the courts take a while to resolve disputes, and in the meantime the people must pay for their power."
While the settlement of the case may still be a long way off, Vujin said that one way to expedite the case would rest in the hands of the judge.
"It is to be hoped that the judge presiding over the case will immediately issue a restraining order against the power-company that would require it to bill at old rates," Vujin said. "The power company will be more willing to settle because they will have less money coming in."