I had the same thing happening at Drake Hall, got 3000 in bills. Was a bit of a surprise. I'm playing siblings in that dorm, so the household has two sims, and both of them have a part time job in addition to full class schedule. The electricity went off before they got part time job promotions and could pay the bills with that money, but I really don't think this is how it should be in the dorms. Surely maintenance and utilities should be included in the base dorm payment?
Would be nice to hear from the gurus if this is intended, or if we should start filing bug reports.