Woman Gets #WTF Electric Bill of $284 Billion—Blames Christmas Lights

What could you do with $284 billion? You could buy The Chicago Cubs with change to spare, you could own all of Netflix, erase the national debts of Hungary and South Africa, or… if you’re Mary Horomanski, you could pay your electric bill.

This is freaking hilarious. Horomanski, a 58-year-old homeowner in Erie, PA. went online to check her electric bill, and her eyes “just about popped out” she said, when she saw the amount due: $284 billion!!

She told The Erie Times-News that she suspected that her family had put up their Christmas lights “wrong.” 

LOL! Wow, even The Griswold’s from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation couldn’t have had a bill that high.

She may have been relieved as she read further and saw she didn't have to pay the full amount until November 2018—and only a $28,156 minimum payment was due for December.

Or maybe not.

After she told her family about the unusually high bill, Horomanski’s son contacted First Energy who investigated and admitted “whoops!”—it was a typo. A decimal point was accidentally moved.

The correct amount was quickly displayed at $284.46.

“I can’t recall ever seeing a bill for billions of dollars,” Mark Durbin of First Energy said. “We appreciate the customer’s willingness to reach out to us about the mistake.” Ummm. Seriously?! Did he think they would just pay it? And could you imagine if she had automatic debits set up?

Horomanski said the $284 billion bill caused her to ask her son for a different Christmas present this year. “I told him I want a heart monitor,” she joked.