JASON SHEFFIELD is too scared to turn on his lights.

For the past two years the Hamilton Hill resident’s power bills have been so high, he’s resorted to fumbling around his unit with a torch in an attempt to rein them in.

Mr Sheffield, who lives alone with a couple of cats, runs just a handful of basic appliances which he studiously turns off at the wall after each use, yet his power bills still put most families to shame.

One bimonthly bill last year nearly hit $550. He regularly pays well over $300.

He appealed for help from Synergy, which told him he was probably over-using his air conditioner.

• Jason Sheffield is so worried about his spiraling, unexplained power bills, he mostly finds his way around with a torch. Photo by Steve Grant

So Mr Sheffield monitored his use and over two months cut his cooling down to just 40 minutes in total. His next bill was $377.

He brought in electricians to test all his appliances—most of which are new or a couple of years old—and all came up fine. The sparkies shook their heads at his bills, saying something’s fishy.

Mr Sheffield, who owns his own flat in the ageing Charlemagne Gardens complex, is on a pension and says the bills are so crippling he’s falling behind with his land rates and it’s starting to impact his health.

He fears a neighbour has been tapping into his power to run a hydroponic drug setup, but says he can’t get police interested enough to come and have a look. A nearby unit has its windows covered by reflective foil 24 hours a day.

by STEVE GRANT