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SMUD Demanding Payment After Tenant Leaves Elderly Women Footing The Bill

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A billing issue could mean electricity trouble for one property owner and his renters after a tenant left and didn't pay the bill.

The tenant who stayed says she can't afford to pay the outstanding balance, but if they can't come to an agreement with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, the power will be shut off.

The three elderly tenants of the property say they need the electricity, because one of them is on a breathing machine that must always be plugged in.

But SMUD insists the tenants need to pay the outstanding debt first.

Property owner Brian Pool is worried the three tenants after SMUD came and shut off their power.

"As of now, they are asking me, the homeowner, or the current tenant to assume this undisclosed large amount, all they will tell us is its over $500," he said.

Two homes sit on his property and they share one meter. One tenant recently moved out unexpectedly, but left behind several months worth of unpaid SMUD bills.

Linda Spillard, one of the remaining tenants, says she has always paid her portion of the bill, but the money never got to SMUD.

"I paid my bill every month," she said. "I thought she was but she wasn't."

She's concerned about her roommate Joan, who needs the electricity for her breathing machine.

Spillard says she and her roommates are all on disability and can't afford to pay the bill.

So CBS13 asked SMUD, why are the remaining tenants responsible for someone else's debt?

A spokesperson said since the customers have benefited from the services, they are responsible for the bill.

The company says it will try to get the money from the person who failed to pay, but if that person can't or won't pay up, anyone who used the service shares the responsibility.

SMUD wouldn't comment on further specifics of the case, citing customer confidentiality, but a spokesman says the company will work with the tenants and property owner to resolve the matter.

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