The New York state Public Service Commission has reached a nearly $65 million settlement with utility company Central Hudson over the company’s billing issues. It comes after an investigation prompted by customer complaints over inaccurate estimated billing out of proportion with actual usage after the implementation of a new system in 2021.
Included in the settlement is more than $35 million to cover the costs of remedying the billing system, in addition to $4 million for the direct benefit of customers, more than $6 million to cover the projected costs of monthly meter readings, and up to $2 million if Central Hudson does not implement the meter reading schedule by Halloween.
According to the PSC, the company must also not challenge nearly $9 million in negative revenue adjustments stemming from the billing issues, and must also continue to issue credits for back billing.
In response to the decision, Central Hudson says it has worked to increase transparency and has also hired more customer service personnel, adding it views the PSC report as validation its billing efforts have been resolved. Central Hudson replaced its CEO in February 2023.
It is also facing sharp blowback after proposing gas and electric rate hikes of 19 and 16 percent, respectively.
