[Brainhose]

Their meter was defective so the utility should have to eat it, unless there was absolute proof that the restaurant owner tampered with it, which is impossible to do without the meter reader knowing it.
I used to work for a software company that worked solely for utilities (Mostly gas). They are sooo notoriously cheap it's not funny.
They think just because our work came from our brains that anything they asked for extra after the contract was signed should be free, "Can't you just make this change I want? It'll only take an hour or two.".
I used to ask them to provide free gas to my apartment. This always shut them up in a hurry.
God, how I've come to detest utility companies. I hope these folks get their lawyer on this.

[Publius6961]

God, how I've come to detest utility companies. I hope these folks get their lawyer on this.

It's not just utilities. All public bureaucracies suffer from that same disease. The cure for ineptitude and incompetence is free services from the private sector.