Local leaders are cautiously optimistic about an agreement between New York state and Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corporation. The utility has faced years of scrutiny over its billing practices.
Under the agreement with the New York state Department of Public Service, Central Hudson will pay for an independent monitor to validate system and operational improvements relating to billing system errors and hasten plans for monthly meter readings.
It follows years of complaints about the company’s billing practices.
The utility company currently reads meters bimonthly using estimated usage for months in-between. Customers say problems with estimated bills were at the heart of months of frustration in sorting out inaccurate invoices.
Company spokesperson Joseph Jenkins says the agreement is a step in the right direction, but work will continue to correct problems.
“We have seen that our billing system is performing at a level very close to what our previous billing system was performing at,” Jenkins said. “So, we hope that that continues. We’ll continue to work with the monitor, with the Public Service Commission.”
The agreement does not resolve New York State’s Public Service Commission’s ongoing investigation of past billing system errors. Jenkins says the company is thankful for the oversight.
“We understand that this doesn’t close the book,” Jenkins said. “You know, we appreciate that they pointed out a lot of the progress that we’ve made, but we understand that there’s still work to be done.”
The monitor will oversee Central Hudson’s monthly reading process. Jenkins says prioritizing corrections was a crucial step as the number of complaints from customers and the PSC declined significantly.
“You know, there is an amount of concern over their bills due to the supply portion of their bills, energy supply prices, which is something that Central Hudson doesn’t have any control over,” Jenkins said. “Energy supply is market based. We purchase it on the open market and we pass those charges through to, you know, from the customers to the third-party energy supplier. So, we don’t mark that up, we don’t profit off of it. But it does, the volatility in the energy market does still continue to create some confusion for customers.”
In an interview with WAMC earlier this year, new Central Hudson CEO Chris Capone downplayed the issue.
“I don’t think it’s still a sizeable issue, but if you're the customer impacted, it's a critical issue,” Capone said. “So, we have resolved many of the issues that were there in the go live period in the post go live period. There are some customers that we're still working with to make sure that the bills are accurate and timely. But that number has come down considerably. But until it's zero, our work isn't done.”
Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger has held meetings and workshops with customers and Central Hudson administration to address the problems. The Democrat says her administration is not yet satisfied.
“A lot of the billing errors were resulting from this practice of estimated billing. People were, you know, getting bills three months in a row based on estimates rather than actual meter reads that had no basis in reality in terms of the electricity, the amount of electricity they were actually using,” Metzger said. “So that's a huge step forward. I do, though, have concerns with the timeline, they basically, the utility, has said that they will, you know, have monthly meter reads for the majority of customers by the end of 2024, which is, you know, over a year faster than they said they would but it still is, from my perspective, too far into the future, we really want to see an end to estimated billing much sooner. So, but we'll keep pressing for that.”
Metzger says it will take work for consumers to regain trust.
“I do think that, you know, depending on what this independent monitor finds over time, if they find that, in fact, the utility has corrected the errors that the utility has, in fact, fixed the billing system and that going forward people will be getting accurate bills, yes, there is a chance to regain customer trust in the utilities billing,” Metzger said.
In a statement, Hudson Valley Congressman Pat Ryan, a Democrat from the 18th District who preceded Metzger as Ulster County Executive, says this announcement is what he’s been fighting for.
On Monday, the company proposed a new rate plan to take effect next July, to increase infrastructure and conform to climate laws. On average, the proposed hike would increase customers’ electrical bill by 16 percent and 19 percent for natural gas. The plan will undergo review by state regulators.
For WAMC News, I’m Samantha Simmons.
