Detroit man couldn’t believe his electricity bill, so he ram an experiment to prove his accusation: ‘DTE is scamming customers’

Ryan Matta, an independent journalist and content creator, has been certain something is wrong with his electricity bills. Now, after returning to Detroit from an international trip and receiving a $159.33 bill, he is pretty certain he is right and is committed to recording everything. As he noted on X, he was only in the country for six days during that entire billing cycle. The rest of the time, his power had been switched off. Thus, he alleged on Instagram, “I think DTE is scamming customers for billions.”

Across both platforms, his video gained over 864K views in less than two days, and encouraged people to also chime in with stories of sky-high utility costs. In the video, Matta told his viewers, “Just got home, just walked in the door. Bags are still packed. And on the way home, my dad picked me from the airport. He’s like, man, I’m excited to see what your electricity bill is going to be this month because my electricity bills have been f—ing insane. And I’m never here. I’m barely in the f—ing country.”

He walked through his house to show his viewers that every breaker, except the one that powered his fridge and the one that powered a garage light, was off. As he did so, he pulled up his alleged usage for October, as of October 2nd, the day he walked back into the house. The screenshot he shared of the dashboard said that he used 612 kilowatt-hours. On Instagram, he wrote, “They tried to claim I’ve already used pretty much the same amount of electricity in October.” 

He already has a plan of action after feedback from viewers

On X, he laid out his plan to get to the bottom of this. He summarized the situation for the platform and then wrote, “I plan to film and document everything. I will only be sleeping at this [house] for 2 nights this month. The other 28 days, I plan to disconnect the main line coming into my house to determine if DTE is sending me fake billing statements.”

To meet his quest for answers and action, he asked, “If I find out that DTE has been fabricating my meter reading, or they have my neighbor’s power connected to my house. What legal actions could I take against them?”

Many responded to his post with their own stories. Some expressed a distrust for the system, with one Instagrammer noting, “We already knew when they installed digital meters they were gonna STEAL from us.” Others shared similar experiences. One user claimed, “My bill is over $250 every month I have a 900 sq ft house … I was saying the exact same thing. They are just doing something scammy!!!!!” 

Another shared how confusing it can get. They alleged, “My daughter’s house in LA has been empty for 16 months. No electricity or water in all that time. Gets a notice that her power and water are higher than her neighbors’. There has been zero usage in 16 months.” In one building, in order to control usage, a landlord capped utilities for everyone in the building.

On X, the sentiment is just as skeptical. One user claimed, “I have suspected this for the past 3 years. We have solar and in the winter are burning wood for heat. Our heater rarely turns on. They must be fabricating our bill because it goes up by 3x our normal in the winter and we are using less power.” 

While Matta is looking for evidence of a scam, experts suggest there could be a technical reason for high bills. According to Energy Control Systems (ECS), utility bills are notoriously difficult to read and can be influenced by hidden factors. The article explains that sometimes the answer is found within your own four walls. 

ECS noted that “dirty power,” or harmonic distortion caused by modern electronics like LEDs and variable frequency drives, can force systems to work harder and waste energy as heat. ECS also pointed out that sudden spikes often stem from complex billing structures, such as “Demand Charges,” which punish users for peak usage windows. They noted that even corroded grounding can cause electricity to leak. In certain instances, it picks up radio stations.

Whether Matta’s issue is a technical glitch, “dirty power,” or something more malicious remains to be seen. As he vented to his viewers, he noted that his bills weren’t based on past usage, as the bills allegedly specifically said they were “direct meter readings.” Hence Matta’s plan to escalate his recording. 

He told his viewers, “So next time I’m going, I’m shutting them all off. I’m emptying the fridge. I’m draining the fridge. I’m shutting off all of the f—ing power to my entire house. And I want to see what that bill is.”