WAIANAC, HI - A Hawaiian couple was charged a whopping $18,000 for their electric bill last month after their electric company claimed they were responsible for paying for their neighborhood streetlights.Desha-Ann and Rashann Kealoha, who live in Waianac, received a letter from the Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) on Jan.
27, 2022, saying they were the legal owners of the street and were therefore responsible for an outstanding balance of $17,860.09, which was currently more than $18,000 due to "several years of unpaid invoices," WTEN-TV reported."Hawaiian Electric recently learned that you both own Halemaluhia Place…" the HECO said in the letter, according to the report. "Because you own the street upon which the streetlights are located, Hawaiian Electric believes that you are responsible for the payment of electric energy supplied to these streetlights.""Yes, I was shocked, overwhelmed and confused, but still remained hopeful that there is some solution to this," Desha-Ann Kealoha told the outlet. "My husband has a colorful vocabulary – he was upset."Get your top stories delivered daily! Sign up for FOX 11’s Fast 5 newsletter.
And, get breaking news alerts in the FOX 11 News app. Download for iOS or Android.The HECO also provided documentation showing which of the street lights allegedly belonged to the couple — which have been powered for several years — without any payment to the company, WTEN reported."During the review, Hawaiian Electric learned that several of these accounts did not have an existing customer," the letter stated, according to the report.