Topping wild week: $200,000 gas bills

Keliy Anderson-Staley usually isn’t shocked when her natural gas bill rises when cold weather moves into Houston. But the bill she received in an email from CenterPoint Energy on Thursday was enough to make you clutch your chest: $202,102.16.

“The amount was so high it seemed like there was no possible way it wasn't a typo,” she said.

Anderson-Staley, associate professor of photography at the University of Houston, was one of around 27,000 CenterPoint customers who received a similar shock when they checked their email. The Houston utility said the charges are a mistake.

“Customers who received an email notification showing an amount due of $202,102.16 for natural gas should disregard and not pay it as they don’t owe this amount,” CenterPoint said. “We are sorry for the inconvenience. This was only an email message error, not a billing error.”

Karen Quintana Peters, a Houston certified public accountant, was also startled when she opened the email from CenterPoint.

“My heart stopped,” said Peters. “I thought, ‘How is this possible?’ I'd have to sell my house to pay it.”

Peters’ second thought was CenterPoint’s website had been hacked.

“I assumed it was not real,” Peters said. “But that is my account number and the link is real.”

Anderson-Staley said she discovered the six-figure charge was an error when she doubled-checked the figure by logging on to her online CenterPoint account. Her bill: $54.49.

Still, it was the last thing the local residents needed after losing power, heat and water because of a severe winter storm that brought frigid temperatures throughout Texas.

“It added stress to an already stressful week,” said Anderson Staley.