GLITCH INFLATES SOME UTILITY BILLS; GLENDALE'S NEW SYSTEM MAKES BIG BLUNDERS.Byline: Lee Condon Staff Writer The Glendale Water & Power Department, preparing for the next century, got new computers, but they have been spitting out some incorrect utility bills for as high as $20,000. City officials say they have found about 10 incorrect bills for $12,000 to $20,000. About 1,000 customers received duplicate bills, and 40 received sewer SEWER. Properly a trench artificially made for the purpose of carrying water into the sea, river, or some other place of reception. Public sewers are, in general, made at the public expense. Crabb, R. P. Sec. 113. bills that were about double what they normally pay. Bernard Palk, the city director of the Water & Power Department, said the problem resulted from glitches in the new computer system. In some instances the hand-held computers Noun 1. hand-held computer - a portable battery-powered computer small enough to be carried in your pocket hand-held microcomputer portable computer - a personal computer that can easily be carried by hand that meter readers use were not communicating properly with the new system, he said, and some bills were mistakenly generated when the system was being tested. Palk said errors are being corrected when identified, and there could be mistakes. ``Typically it takes six to nine months to shake these things "These Things" is an EP by She Wants Revenge, released in 2005 by Perfect Kiss, a subsidiary of Geffen Records. Music Video The music video stars Shirley Manson, lead singer of the band Garbage. Track Listing 1. "These Things [Radio Edit]" - 3:17 2. out,'' Palk said. ``Everyone who has bought a new system has gone through this.'' He said the new system is vastly superior to the old one, however, and in the long run he expects the new software to detect and stop most errors. He said the new system automatically double-checks any bill significantly higher than the customer's previous one. The transition has been complicated, he said, because many utility bills actually rise significantly in the summer months because of costs to run air conditioning air conditioning, mechanical process for controlling the humidity, temperature, cleanliness, and circulation of air in buildings and rooms. Indoor air is conditioned and regulated to maintain the temperature-humidity ratio that is most comfortable and healthful. and pool pumps. For some people a spike A burst of extra voltage in a power line that lasts only a few nanoseconds. See power surge, power swell, sag and surge suppression. (jargon) spike - To defeat a selection mechanism by introducing a (sometimes temporary) device that forces a specific result. in their bills is a mistake, but for others it is legitimate, Palk said. But officials at the utility agency have been able to distinguish between correct and mistaken spikes, he said. Customers who get duplicate bills are unlikely to pay more than once, he said. Glendale utility bills are sent out every other month. If customers have questions, they should call the department at 548-4080. The department needed the new system not just because of the century-change problem, but also because, under deregulation Deregulation The reduction or elimination of government power in a particular industry, usually enacted to create more competition within the industry. Notes: Traditional areas that have been deregulated are the telephone and airline industries. rules, utilities have to break down electric bills to show how much of the cost is related to generation and how much is related to transmission. Glendale Councilman David Weaver
The Weavers are small passerine birds related to the finches. These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills, most of which breed in sub-Saharan Africa, with fewer species in tropical said he is confident the department is solving its computer problems. ``We're in the computer age, and there are glitches all the time,'' Weaver said. |
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