I wish I could say good things about Inland Power ...

I wish I could say good things about Inland Power and light. Maybe they deserve better, but in my experiences in the last 6 years, I cannot leave a very positive review. Todays bill solidifies my thoughts about Inland.
Over the last 6 years, our power has gone out a few times. This is normal especially where I live out in the country during something like a bad storm. Normally, the power will go out for a while in these circumstances. However, sometimes, without warning, the power will "blink" out for just a second or five.
Now, I am no electrician, but if a car hit a power pole or tree fell on a sub-station, then I'd expect the power to be out for more than a second. No, I believe they are doing these 'outtages' or its their new "Smart" meter... more on that in a bit.
The lights going on and off is not exactly the issue, though walking up or down stairs while holding a new born baby when darkness suddenly appears, has its own issues. No, its the computers, the microwave that requires a date to be entered EVERY time for some reason. Its the alarm clock that fails to wake me, the bbq smoker that needs to be restarted, the babies sound machine, the alarm system... its everything else.
I called Inland twice in the last month for these outtages and reported them. Once a guy suddenly appeared in my driveway and asked if my power was currently on. Not the issue at all. Its the SUDDEN outtage and back on that is the issue. My neighbors all have asked me the same question: "Does your power randomly go out for a bit and come back on?"

But the real issue, the one that prompted this review of a power company today, was the bill. My bill, on average is about $130/mo. This bill is over $500! What happened? No letter, no explanation, no NOTHING. I had to call. I was told that my "Smart Meter" quit communicating with them and they changed it out. Took the old meter back to their shop and saw that their computer was under charging me for the last 3 months. The $500 is like a back payment for the power that we used while the meter was not communicating. "Its only a one time payment." So, the meter stopped communicating, the billing computer simply charged us an estimation which we paid unaware anything was wrong, they replaced the meter 3 months later, discovered the estimation was wrong, decided to charge us the remainder without warning. THAT IS BS! This difference, Inland Power and Light should eat. I am very tempted to invest in alternative power at this point. Put up solar, wind, generators, anything other than this horrid service.