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Billing problem? Central Hudson now has website for that

Mar 31, 2022 2:02 pm

Liz Montgomery reports for Porcupine Soup that he New York State Public Service Commission has opened a website for Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation customers to complain about issues with their bills. There have been many reports of customers receiving very large bills after the company installed a new billing system. And there was a winter storm Feb. 4 winter storm that knocked out power for four days for more than 67,000 homes and businesses. Mary Garcia has a house with her daughter just outside of Cairo and does not understand how they could be billed so much. “We don’t come up in the winter and the house stays locked up. We don’t have electric heat, unplug all the appliances, and have a timer for one light in the kitchen to come on at night,” Garcia said. “Our last bill said last month we used more electricity than we did in the fall when everyone was there, the kids always watching TV, opening the refrigerator, and the air conditioner on sometimes. Both of those are real readings. We panicked and came right up after getting the bill to check the house and it isn’t possible, nothing is running.” Garcia says she's been calling Central Hudson, but gets long wait times. Instead, now anyone can go to a website and explain their problem. The website address is long, and not easily remembered, but there is a link on the WGXC Newsroom at: https://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterCaseNo=22-00666&CaseSearch=Search. Central Hudson has also hired a third-party independent consulting company to conduct a management and operations audit of the new billing system. “The audit will also provide an assessment of Central Hudson’s grid modernization efforts and examines how the company plans for and manages projects related to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act or CLCPA. We are also closely examining Central Hudson’s storm response efforts, and its ongoing customer billing problems,” said Public Service Commission Chair Rory Christian. Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup.