Previous landlord wants me to pay power bill?

[Matt W.]

This is slightly complicated so please bear with me.

Background: I bought an investment house in October 2019, put the electricity bill in my name for the month as I painted and did some minor touch ups.  In November tenants moved in, I took my name off the power bill and the tenants put it in their name.

Fast forward to today, October 30, 2020.  I get a call out of the blue from the former owner, who I have never met, who says he got a bill for the property for the last few weeks for $75.  He texts me the bill and I call the power company.  They tell me he had a "landlord account" and that he never canceled it, so any missed payments are his responsibility.  I cannot put it into my name as a landlord until the former owner cancels his account, plus they require you to own 10 homes, which I do not. 

The representative from Duke energy would not tell me the specifics about what the problem is with the current bill, so I can only assume the tenants have missed a payment.  The previous owner scheduled the power to be cut off.  I called the tenants and told them they need to contact the power company and make sure their bill is paid up.

The previous owner wants me to pay/assume this $75 bill, which I don't think I have any obligation to do, legally or ethically.  He was the person responsible to cancel his special "landlord account" with the power company, and I fully paid my bill for the month it was in my name.

Am I in the wrong?  Has anybody ever heard of this happening?