Glitch causes big utility bills in Wash.

RICHLAND, Wash., July 14 (UPI) -- A Washington man used to getting a utility bill of about $250 a month says he was mistakenly socked for nearly $75,000 this month.

"Holy cow," were the first words Leland Davis said he uttered upon seeing the bill for his automotive repair business.

Davis went down to city hall and presented his bill to a clerk and offered his credit card.

"She started to do it, then she saw the bill," Davis told The Seattle Times. " 'Oh, there's something wrong here.' It was a good laugh."

Davis wasn't alone in getting a stunning bill. Richland Accounting Operations Supervisor Melody Kendall said about 15 customers got incorrectly billed because of meter-reading glitches.

"It was a very small number of accounts that we impacted," she said.

"We're putting checks and balances in place to make sure this doesn't happen."