Local officials put the heat on Central Hudson

A virtual public forum “Know Your Public Utilities Rights” will take place this Thursday

“My bill last month was $700. It’s normally $300. And I’ve been using the woodstove.”

“They automatically withdrew $601.58 from my account in November. My usual bill is less than $100. The next month, they did it again. This time $666.58 was withdrawn. It took multiple, 8 or more, 30-minute phone calls, photos of my meter, escalation to management for them to reconcile my account…in February. For the $666 amount. Still no word on the initial charge, so they’re still sitting on my money.”

“My last bill was on January 27, up over 300-percent higher than normal. Now I’ve been anxiously waiting for my next bill.”

“My bill was doubled compared to last year (and we used more electricity last year too.) I had to use GoFundMe to help pay my bill which is humiliating.”

Are you one of the many Hudson Valley residents looking at your recent utility bill with both eyes wide open? You are not alone. Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, as well as state officials, are calling for an investigation into Central Hudson’s recent price surges and billing practices.

“Over the course of the past six months, both our office and the office of our Ulster County Human Rights Commissioner have fielded an unprecedented volume of serious complaints from constituents expressing concerns about unreliable billing practices and mounting, untenable costs for their utilities,” Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said in a letter to the NYS Public Service Commission. “Further, the primary explanations provided by Central Hudson have been rising global energy costs and an inept implementation of their new bulling and customer service system, whilst disregarding the precarious and stressful situations they have plunged their customers into.”

Read the full letter, here.

In August of 2021, Central Hudson, which serves approximately 309,000 electric customers and 84,000 natural gas customers in the Hudson Valley, implemented a new billing system that led to over-billing, under-billing or a total lack of bills altogether for thousands of customers. Customers received “no warning and no support when attempting to set their records straight, and many saw auto-drafts from their checking accounts in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars without notice.”

“These bill increases are temporary and may vary for individual customers depending on energy usage and their billing cycle,” Central Hudson said in a statement. “Supply prices are market-based and not marked-up by Central Hudson nor do we profit from the increase.” Central Hudson listed factors contributing to the increased prices, such as “increased domestic demand due to colder weather this year,” “constrained domestic pipeline capacity,” “increased domestic demand as the economy recovers from closures prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” and, regionally, an “increased reliance on natural gas for power generation following the closure of Indian Point.”

The state’s Public Utility Law Project estimated that roughly 12-percent of all Central Hudson customers were behind on their bills by 60 days or more, though more delinquent accounts are to be expected as the surge in pricing continues.

“I’m as outraged as my constituents are by the surge energy pricing we’ve seen in recent weeks,” NYS Senator James Skoufis said during a press conference. “$2,600 a month to keep a small home warm? $1,400 to power a small two-bedroom apartment?! That’s offensive and totally unsustainable.”

The NYS Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, which Skoufis chairs, has opened a formal investigation into the surge pricing and billing practices of utility companies and power producers. In addition to Central Hudson, Orange and Rockland Utilities Inc., ConEd, power suppliers and state stakeholders are under threat of subpoena, Skoufis added.

NYS Senator James Skoufis, chair of the NYS Investigations & Government Operations Committee, announces the investigation into local utility companies at the home of Vivian Milczarski in New Windsor. In November, Milczarski, a widow working both a full- and part-time job, received a bill from Central Hudson that was ten times higher than her normal bill. "Rather than getting out ahead of their myriad issues, Central Hudson has put the burden on its consumers to correct glitches in their billing systems. And with ongoing rate hikes, consumers are more at the mercy of their utility companies than they've ever been.”

On Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 6pm, Sen. Skoufis will join the New York State Hudson Valley Delegation and the NY Public Utility Law Project for a public forum entitled, “Know Your Public Utilities Rights: Utility Consumer Rights During and After COVID-19.” The virtual presentation is free and open to the public. Sign-up at bit.ly/utilityrights or email skoufis@nysenate.gov for more information. The forum will also stream live on Facebook: