Waking up to a R1 million electricity bill would be nightmare for anyone‚ even more so if you’re freshly discharged from hospital after major surgery.

Maree McCreadie was slapped with the enormous bill after undergoing spinal fusion surgery at a Johannesburg hospital.

“I got out of hospital on Saturday and I opened this email up and thought ‘that’s it‚ the end has come for me’.”

The bill was for her guesthouse in Westville‚ KwaZulu-Natal‚ where she lives.

“I thought‚ ‘Am I supplying [electricity] to the whole village?’

“Usually‚ even when I have had guests‚ the account is between R4 000 and R5 000 a month. But I haven’t had guests the whole of June and July‚ since it’s been closed.”

She posted a picture of the bill on Facebook with the caption‚ “Wtf Eishkom‚ I’m not paying to fund your undeserved bonuses to your corrupt officials. I need a Valium‚” which has caused laughter and outrage on social media.

“It’s turned quite a serious situation into something funny. At least I’ve made people laugh with all that’s going on in the country.”

McCreadie received a second bill for R4 648‚ with the million carried forward‚ which she paid in fear that her electricity would be switched off.

“You hear about these horror stories where people get disconnected. A lady in the same area [as me] also received an exorbitant account and didn’t have electricity for about three days.”

A few days later she received a third bill for R1 953 and started to see the funnier side to the ridiculous situation.

After struggling to get hold of the municipality‚ she said they have assured her the bills were a human error and she’ll be credited for the money she’s paid.

She hopes‚ however‚ this is where the joke ends.

“I’m holding my breath until the next invoice date‚” she said.