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Retail Supplier To Pay $72,000, Issue Refunds Under Settlement
Public Power LLC would pay a civil penalty of $72,500 and issue certain customer refunds under a settlement with the Pennsylvania PUC's Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement to resolve the charging of an incorrect rate to some 50 customers due to a billing error
Specifically, in response to a customer complaint, I&E Staff determined that there were a total of 119 instances, impacting 50 customers, in which Public Power did not keep the customer's rate protected as promised under a product which capped variable rate increases (15% Price Protection Plan), and which therefore resulted in customers being billed charges in excess of the guaranteed pricing.
I&E was prepared to allege that such action violated several provisions of the PUC's regulations which required the customer to be charged the price agreed to in the disclosure statement. "The overbilling that occurred from January through April 2014 does not appear to have been overt or intentional, but the fact that the billed rate exceeded her introductory rate by more than a 15% increase was, in and of itself, a serious event. While there was no evidence that such activity was indicative of the Company's overall billing practices for its EGS services in Pennsylvania, the conduct at issue was in fact of a serious nature, and impacted a substantial number of customers," I&E asserted
If the matter had been litigated, Public Power would have contended that its actions did not violate the Pennsylvania Code or the Public Utility Code and that it should not be fined or penalized for any offense. If the matter had been litigated, Public Power would have further contended that upon the acquisition of Public Power by Crius Energy, Crius Energy discontinued the 15% Price Protection Plan offering. The employee who oversaw and implemented the product offering left the company which resulted in a small number of operational errors during the merger of the companies' billing systems.
"At the time of the acquisition, operational errors resulting from the merger of the two companies' billing systems lead to the customer issues underlying this informal investigation. More specifically, over reliance was placed on a Public Power employee to carefully monitor the few remaining customers on the 15% Price Protection Plan to ensure that the customers were properly billed during the transition of Public Power to Crius. When this employee ceased working for Public Power shortly after the acquisition, the remaining monitoring system failed to ensure that the remaining customers on the 15% Price Protection Plan were properly billed. Therefore, the situation that caused the issues underlying this investigation resulted from a one-time operational error related to transition issues from an acquisition that has now been completed. As such, there is little to no likelihood of the same situation occurring again in the future," Public Power said in a statement in support of the settlement.
To resolve the matter, the settlement would require Public Power to pay a civil penalty of $72,500. Furthermore, Public Power has already issued refunds in excess of $6,500 for the amount of the electric generation portion of the bill that was greater than the amount due based on marketed prices as set forth in the disclosure statement for all 119 instances of overbilling
Public Power provided the following statement to EnergyChoiceMatters.com:
"When Public Power was acquired several years ago, the merger of the companies' billing systems unfortunately resulted in a small number of operational errors that impacted .02% of our customers at the time. Every day, we deliver extraordinary service and value to nearly a quarter of a million Public Power customers throughout the Northeast.
"We are confident that the controls Public Power put in place since the acquisition reinforce our reputation as one of the Northeast’s leading retail energy suppliers. Public Power looks forward to a continued close working relationship with the PA PUC and remains committed to offering Pennsylvania consumers a smart energy choice, plus powerful rewards. "
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October 28, 2015
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Copyright 2010-15 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Karen Abbott • kabbott@energychoicematters.com
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