Electric bills that are far less than the real charge have set off a short circuit for Ma'aleh Adumim residents, several of whom charged the Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) with purposely trying to fool customers. The bills for the past month were based on estimated use instead of the usual meter reading because of lack of manpower, IEC explained.
Residents suspect that the IEC purposely sent out the estimated bills, some of which were up to 70 percent less than actual consumption, to encourage more use of electricity in the winter months. IEC said that all residents can read the meter themselves and report the reading to the IEC, which will adjust the bill.