◎張沛元
A lot of people gripe when they get high summertime electric bills. But Kristin Harriger’s bill was nearly $1.4 million.
不少人在拿到夏季高電費帳單時都會抱怨。但克莉絲汀．哈瑞吉的帳單金額卻將近140萬美元。
The Abilene, Texas, woman immediately called her provider, Potentia Energy. She quickly learned that her bill was an error.
這名德州艾比林的婦女立刻致電電力公司，波坦尼亞能源，很快發現她的帳單錯了。
The utility provider also excused a $66,000 late fee listed on the bill.
電力公司也減免了帳單上所列的6萬6000美元滯納金。
Potentia told the Abilene Reporter-News it had flagged the bill and had marked it to be held, but the bill mistakenly got sent out.
波坦尼亞能源公司告訴艾比林記者新聞報說，他們原本將這份帳單做了記號要暫時扣著不寄發出去，但結果卻還是被誤寄出去了。
The bill said Harriger was being charged 100,000 cents, or $1,000, per kilowatt hour. The normal rate ranges from 8.2 cents to 12.1 cents.
帳單顯示，哈瑞吉每千瓦小時的電費是10萬美分，也就是1000美元。正常費率是（每千瓦小時）從8.2美分到12.1美分。
Carmen Balver, director of the nonprofit protection group Consumer Watchdog recommended contacting state officials if people run into difficulty while trying to settle a dispute about an over-the-top bill.（AP）
非營利組織「消費者守門人」主任卡門．巴爾瓦建議，民眾試圖解決超高金額帳單的爭議時若遭遇困難，應該與州政府官員聯繫。（美聯社）
新聞辭典
excuse someone from something：慣用語，允許或豁免某人不用做某事。例句：Please excuse me from attending the meeting.（請允許我不出席這場會議。）
run into something：慣用語，經歷意外之事，特別是不愉快的事。例句：The company ran into some financial trouble and had to borrow money.（這家公司遭遇財務困難必須借貸。）
over-the-top，形容詞，超過正常或預期。例句：I know he has a style of his own, but don’t you think purple jacket is a bit over-the-top?（我知道他很有個人風格，但你不覺得紫外套有點太超過？）
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