What Are My Rights In The Face Of A Several-month Billing Error On Comed's Part?

I see. The way you had stated it made it sound like they were charging someone else at an old address you had lived at. I don't understand how the company can make mistakes like this but unfortunately they did. It seems like you might be able to do something since they let someone cancel your account. Especially if it was a total stranger, since they usually ask for personal information. I guess he would have had that if he was getting your bills though.

There's not much you can do.  I had a similar problem, where my meter wasn't working properly and it wasn't recording all my usage; they sent me the bill and I checked into it and there was nothing I could do.  I know another person that had the same thing happen.  You can contact them and work out a possible six month payback plan - that's what I had to do.  They will probably work with you on this.  Good Luck, been there!

crazyredhead87, I haven't changed addresses. I've lived at this address for over three years. I still live there. They accepted a stranger's request to terminate my account and begin billing him for our electricity in either October or December of last year. Perhaps I should have noticed more recently that they hadn't sent us a bill in a while; but I don't know that it's my responsibility to request their bills. I've paid every bill I've received. There was no request for my authorization to change the name on the account. And I certainly did not ask that they stop billing me for a few months and then shut off my electricity without warning and then tell me that they made a mistake and that I owe them $400+.

Stephanie, I did have to pay the full amount due, but was able to spread it interest-free across as many months as I chose. I finally paid the entirety of the large bill and am again enjoying regular-sized monthly bills--until they allow someone else to have my billing stopped for no particular reason.

It looks to me like you don't have any right to refuse to pay. You knew you were changing addresses and if you didn't alert them that you were changing addresses then it is your mess up. If you did alert them and they made the mistake then you should not have to pay. The way you described it makes it look like it is all your fault though. If you knew you weren't getting billed for your electricity you should have spoken up and said something and gotten it resolved.