Checked your Eversource bills yet?
February 20, 2018(Please read and share the attached Meriden Record-Journal story, then check your Eversource bills, then contact me at [email protected] – thank you!)
The Public Utility Regulatory Authority voted Friday to revisit its decision to license a third-party electricity supplier, a move prompted by a complaint earlier in the week from State Sen. Len Suzio, R- Meriden.
PURA also requested data from Eversource and United Illuminating on the electronic transfer of billing information.
A PURA spokesman declined to say why the agency is seeking the data.
PURA will revisit its 2010 decision to grant a license to Texas-based Spark Energy to be a third-party energy supplier in Connecticut.
While residents must have their electricity delivered by Eversource or UI, state law allows them to choose to purchase that power from a third-supplier supplier.
A spokesman for Spark said in a statement Friday that the company “intends to work with PURA to resolve this matter.”
Suzio filed a complaint with PURA accusing both Eversource and Spark Energy of providing misleading pricing information on his monthly bills.
“Frankly, you can point the finger at everybody — they’re all to blame,” Suzio said Friday.
Suzio filed a complaint with PURA stating his bills contained inaccurate or misleading information.
His monthly Eversource bills would indicate the supply charge in his next bill would be 7 cents per kilowatt hour, but he was then charged 12.99 cents per kilowatt hour.
He noticed the discrepancy for six months.
In a letter to PURA Monday, Suzio urged the agency to investigate Eversource for “knowingly disseminating information to thousands and thousands of ratepayers on their electric bill.”
Eversource spokesman Mitch Gross said the problem, however, is with Spark Energy.
Gross said third party vendors are responsible for putting their pricing information in an electronic billing system.
“The third-party suppliers are entirely responsible for their rate,” he said. “They’ve chosen to do business here, and part of that responsibility is making sure that the information is provided in an accurate and timely manner.”
Gross said that Suzio is among the roughly 28 percent of Eversource’s customers that have opted to purchase electricity from a third-party.
He added Eversource will cooperate with PURA’s data request.
Suzio said Eversource should review the bill and make sure the information is accurate.
“You’re the one that’s disseminating this erroneous information,” Suzio said. “You know it’s not reliable, and it’s on your bill, not on somebody else’s bill.”