Milena Pagan, owner of Little Sister restaurant in Providence, received a stack of electricity bills from Rhode Island Energy last year that totaled $19,053. Despite paying her bills on time, the expensive invoices arrived without warning. The utility company had been estimating her monthly bills based on a prior tenant’s lower usage for around two years. When a technician took an actual reading in June 2022, the company discovered that its estimates were far too low, triggering the massive retroactive billing. Pagan is now fighting the bill by taking the issue to state regulators. She rejects Rhode Island Energy’s offer to enter into a payment plan as she does not believe she should be at fault for the billing issue. Pagan’s next hearing at the DPUC is scheduled for 17 April.