Upstate Woman Slammed with $18,000 Bill After Hitting National Grid Pole

An upstate New York woman was slammed with an over $18,000 bill after she hit a utility pole in 2020.

Ever wonder what one of those utility poles along the side of the road costs? Well, an Albany-area woman got the answer in the form of an $18,165.14 bill from National Grid she needs to pay when her "vehicle struck and damaged a pole" in Rexford, NY.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

Arianna Sheehan received the whopper of a bill, itemized as follows:

Transportation: $2,301.83
Labor, Expenses, and Fringes: $9,549.45
Materials and Handling: $891.22
Overheads: $6,506.95

There was a credit for $1,084.00 from JPP - not sure what that stands for, but thanks.

DAYUM.

That's a lot of money for a wooden pole - which clearly requires a lot of skill and hard work to put in. The pole itself is just under $900 bucks, but there are nearly $10,000 in labor expenses to erect it.

Here's the real question: was the pole actually replaced? Another person who had a similar accident and received a similar bill says the pole wasn't even replaced - it was just patched back together with 2 x 4's. Not sure this pole could survive with that kind of patch.

Fortunately, the bill will be submitted to the driver's insurance company, so it doesn't come out of her pocket.

What else can you buy for $18,000?

• Well, Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP gift guide has a Study Pod for $13,000
  
• How about a Pre-Owned Men's Gold Rolex?
• 18,000 rolls of toilet paper so you're REALLY prepared when that next pandemic happens...
• Or maybe an Uber gift card so....you don't drive into a pole.