(KLZA)-- A Facebook post from the City of Falls City concerning Falls City Utility customers bills arriving now reveals a mistake was made resulting in utility bills being higher than they should have been.

The post said an internal audit of utility customer accounts revealed an error was made in the calculation of the “power cost adjustment” billing which resulted in an overcharge to customers.

The PCA is an adjustment made to customers electric bills each month reflecting fluctuation in the true cost of power purchased and / or the cost of power generation by the City of Falls City.

An investigation by the City, determined the incorrect base of cost for power production was utilized in calculation the PCA beginning when the new utility rates became effective on October 1, 2022.

The PCA calculation is performed manually each billing cycle, then entered into the city's utility billing software. The current checks and balances process did not catch the error which resulted in an overcharge to customers for electrical power consumed.

To correct the mistake, utility customers will receive a credit on the next billing cycle in February for utility bills due by March 15. The amount of the credit will vary depending upon the total kilowatt hours consumed between October 1, 2022 and January 15, 2023.

The credit will be applied directly to customer accounts in February and will carry forward until the credit is used.

The credit cannot be utilized for the January billing cycle that is due by February 15, due to timing of the credit posting.

The City plans to add additional layers of check and balances to ensure this error does not occur in the future.

In the post the City apologized for any confusion the inconvenience the issue caused.