Coronavirus shutdown uncovers bill bungle which leaves Parap restaurant Oka Teppanyaki $30,000 in the red

A JAPANESE restaurant has paid an extra $30,000 for its power over five years after their billing address was switched with The Cheesecake Shop next door in Parap

Oka Teppanyaki owner Frank Yeh said it wasn’t until his restaurant closed temporaily due to coronavirus that a bill bungle — which saw him pay an excess of about $30,000 in power bills — was uncovered. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford

A JAPANESE restaurant has paid an extra $30,000 for its power over five years after their billing address was switched with The Cheesecake Shop next door in Parap.

Oka Teppanyaki owner Frank Yeh said he didn’t know about the bungle until he was forced to close during the coronavirus pandemic but his power bill was only $50 less than the previous year.

MORE TOP NT NEWS

Sneak peek inside almost-complete $12m Turf Club grandstand

Former speaker Kezia Purick taken to court by political rival

PM praises NT hotspot plan as SA and QLD ban Victorians

“Since COVID-19, there was no more dining so basically me and my brother were only two people working,” he said.

“Because there was no dining, we switched off the aircon in the dining area to try and save money. After one month, suffering in the heat, my brother had a look at the power bill and he said it’s not even $50 difference.”

After contacting Jacana and PowerWater corporation it was found the power bills had been switched but Mr Yeh wasn’t satisfied.

“Jacana told us it was between $400 to $800 difference in the bills each month. I will say a minimum of $30,000,” he said.

“Even PowerWater came and had a look and see if there is a mistake. They said the mistake happened three years ago when they changed it to the smart meter.

“But we checked our power bill five years ago, it’s about the same.”

A PowerWater Corporation spokeswoman wouldn’t comment on individual bills but said PowerWater was aware of the issue.

“We were recently made aware of this inquiry from Jacana Energy and are working with them to investigate and arrive at a suitable outcome,” she said.

LIMITED TIME: New NT News subsctription offer: $1 a week for first 12 weeks

Jacana also declined to comment on the individual case but said it was aware of the discrepancy with Oka Teppanyaki’s bill.

Mr Yeh said while he wanted to be compensated, The Cheesecake Shop shouldn’t have to cough up the money for PowerWater’s mistake.

“It should be coming up from PowerWater, they are the ones who set off the meter,” he said.

Originally published as Coronavirus shutdown uncovers bill bungle which leaves Parap restaurant Oka Teppanyaki $30,000 in the red