MACON, Ga. — A Macon woman says her apartment complex's broken water heater left her without hot water for months and stuck with electric bills topping $1,000 — more than five times her normal cost.

Jozi Hellis lives at Novus on Riverside. She says her apartment lost hot water in May after a leak developed in the water heater. But the heater kept running at full blast, trying to heat water that wasn't there.

"After months and months and like countless plumbers being in here, we finally figured out that it was the water heater, and it just constantly runs," Hellis said.

Her normal monthly bill of $170 to $200 jumped to $300, then $700, and eventually hit $1,000 per month. Over five months, she estimates she's paid about $3,000 in excess electricity costs.

Hellis says plumbers and code

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