Watch: California man accidentally pays neighbor's power bill for years

Sept. 18 (UPI) -- A California man discovered he has been mistakenly paying his neighbor's power bill for up to 18 years.

Ken Wilson, who has lived in the same apartment since 2006, said he recently noticed his Pacific Gas and Electric bill was going up, so he took steps to try to reduce his energy usage.

He reached out to PG&E when his bill failed to go down.

"I thought there was a leak or someone was stealing my electricity or the meter was faulty because something wasn't right," he told CBS Sacramento.

A utility company employee came to examine Wilson's meter and discovered the company had been charging him for the unit next door, instead of his own apartment.

Wilson said the mix-up may have been happening for the entire 18 years that he has lived in the apartment.

"We acknowledge an error occurred in this instance, and we are fully committed to rectifying the situation with the customer and make the customer whole," PG&E said in a statement.