Check your CT electric bills after you read this…
February 21, 2018PURA To Probe Lawmaker’s Complaint About Misleading Electricity Billings
Hartford Courant
A Meriden lawmaker’s complaint about misleading information on consumers’ electric bills has prompted state regulators to review the state license of one of Connecticut’s third party energy suppliers.
Sen. Len Suzio, R-Meriden, last week accused that Texas-based supplier, Spark Energy, and his distribution company, Eversource, of including erroneous information on his electric bills for months about how much his future monthly rates would be.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority late last week decided to reopen its licensing process for Spark Energy based on Suzio’s complaint that the company “failed to provide accurate information” concerning the lawmaker’s future electricity rates.
According to the new decision, PURA officials “addressed similar compliance issues with Spark between October 2016 and March 2017 and was assured by Spark that it had taken measures to ensure Spark’s compliance going forward.”
Spark Energy was originally granted a Connecticut license in 2010 to supply energy through Eversource to Connecticut electricity consumers.
A spokesman for Eversource said the information about electricity rates in the next month’s billing cycles that are the focus of Suzio’s complaint are sent in by third-party suppliers like Spark and simply included on Eversource’s bills.
But Suzio argues that Eversource should be held equally responsible for any misinformation on those bills and that consumers who were misinformed should be reimbursed.
Suzio estimates he should be reimbursed for about $110 over four months, and that possibly thousands of other electricity consumers should also be given refunds.
PURA officials have also asked Eversource and United Illuminating for additional information on “electronic transfer of supplier-related billing data,” according to PURA spokesman Michael Coyle.