Portsmouth man billed £600 for two weeks electricity

Shane Thomas said he was also told his annual electricity consumption was an estimated £17,000

A man was billed almost £600 for two weeks of electricity and told his annual consumption was an estimated £17,000 after a new meter was installed at his home.

Shane Thomas, from Portsmouth, switched from a pre-payment meter to a reconditioned standard one.

He said he was told an air fryer he used for about 10 minutes each day was to blame for the £587 bill.

SSE Energy Services has apologised for the mix-up.

Mr Thomas said he told the company the meter could not have been on zero when it was installed and he feared the correct reading had not been recorded.

"I can't believe it," he said.

"At one stage I thought I was just going to pay it and offer them £50 a month but I actually clearly haven't used that energy."

Mr Thomas has said he uses an app to keep his electricity consumption under control

He later installed a smart meter to show the air fryer uses just 1p of electricity per minute.

SSE Energy Services launched an investigation.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the company said: "We're very sorry for the inconvenience and can confirm that the meter readings have been corrected and his account is now up to date."

Mr Thomas' balance has been reduced to £70 and he received £140 gesture of goodwill.