Tens of thousands of people were left without electricity as strong “once in a generation” winds stormed over the UK in November last year during Storm Arwen.
Northern Powergrid revealed on Sunday that it did not intend to issue trillion-pound cheques to 74 customers in the north of England, with some getting more than £2.3 trillion.
The energy company attributed the inaccuracy on a clerical error in which the clients’ energy metre numbers were substituted for the amount due.
When a consumer shared a photo of the check he had received with Northern Powergrid on Twitter, the error was discovered.
“Thank you for compensating us for the numerous days we were without electricity due to Storm Arwen, Northern Powergrid,” he wrote. “However, before I deposit the check, are you confident you can afford this?”
The customer was given a cheque for £2,324,252,080,110, as seen in the image.
In only 24 hours, the tweet received over 27,000 likes, with others joining in to mock the mistake. “Take it to the bank!” Then we can all share it equitably,” one Twitter user remarked. Another said, “I suppose you control Northern Powergrid now.”
The provider stated that 74 clients with Halifax and Newcastle postcodes received compensation checks with the wrong payout amount.
“As soon as we spotted the clerical error, which was caused by the power metre reference number being wrongly reported as the payment total, we ensured that all 74 customers’ cheques were blocked so they could not be cashed,” a Northern Powergrid spokeswoman said.
“We’ve been looking into how this issue occurred and double-checking past payments.” “All indications are that this was a one-time occurrence.” We commend those consumers who were forthright and notified us, and we have been in direct touch with all 74 customers impacted over the weekend to inform them of the error, apologise for it, and reassure them that a proper payment would be provided to them on Monday.”
