Kingston, NY – Central Hudson announced last week that despite an ongoing investigation that found the company guilty of wrongdoings in its 2021 rollout of a new Customer Information System, the company will resume collection activities this week, starting with the Kingston Division that includes the majority of Ulster County. Assemblymember Shrestha, who represents much of Central Hudson’s service territory, encourages residents to take immediate steps to protect themselves, and to reach out to her office if assistance is needed. Additionally, Shrestha sent a letter, included below, to the PSC, urging it to halt Central Hudson’s collection activities while it remains under investigation.

“While we work to simultaneously pass our bill (A7537) and persuade the PSC to prohibit utilities under investigation from being able to terminate accounts, we strongly encourage residents to take steps to protect themselves. If you believe there’s an issue with your bill, and you’ve tried to resolve it with Central Hudson but are unable to get a satisfactory resolution, immediately file a complaint with the Public Service Commission by calling 800-342-3377, because your service should not be terminated if you have an active PSC complaint. If the company is not acting on your complaint, call the PSC with your case number and provide updates every two weeks. If you’re on a deferred payment plan, you should not be subject to service terminations. Central Hudson has also said they’re excluding the following groups from initial collections efforts: customers enrolled in certain special assistance programs, customers with recent adjusted bills, and those with complex billing situations, among others. If you need assistance navigating any of these steps or need more information, reach out to us. You can email us at district103@nyassembly.gov, or call 845-338-9610. Our district office is located at 324 Washington Ave, Suite 1, in Kingston, and we recommend making an appointment before an office visit so that you can be seen in a timely manner.”

Residents can check if their municipality is in the Kingston Division at https://www.cenhud.com/en/about-us/our-service-territory/. Shrestha is the lead sponsor of a bill (A7537) to suspend late fees and account terminations related to non-payment when a utility is being investigated for major wrongdoings. “We’re actively working with the Assembly’s corporations committee to move this bill, given the urgent protections it can provide to ratepayers,” said Shrestha.

Separate from the investigation on billing errors, Central Hudson is in the midst of a rate case where it seeks to increase electricity and gas delivery rates by 31.9% and 29.2% respectively. Assemblymember Shrestha is the only State legislator who is party to the ongoing rate case, in which the Administrative Law Judges are expected to make a recommended decision next.

Please find a copy of the letter sent to the PSC below:

“Dear Chair Christian,

As the Assemblymember who represents the majority of Ulster County, where Central Hudson plans to resume its collection activities, I am writing to request that the Public Service Commission intervene on behalf of ratepayers to prohibit the Company from resuming any collection activity until the investigation for the utility’s billing errors, Case 22-M-0645, is deemed complete with final determinations made.

Despite its efforts since August 2022 to remind customers with unpaid bills to make a payment or enter into a payment agreement, the Company says around one out of every four of its customers has an arrears balance greater than 60 days. This is a staggeringly high number of which the underlying cause must be addressed before Central Hudson can start issuing final termination notices. Customers who have an unpaid balance for more than two months and have not yet entered into a payment agreement will get such notices, but in our experience many of our constituents have chosen not to get into a payment agreement because they don’t believe their bills to be correct to begin with. The scale of the billing errors, the quality of customer service, and the inability of customers to speak directly with bill technicians have exacerbated the number of unpaid bills and unwillingness to enter payment agreements. It is for these reasons that collection activities must pause until the investigation is complete.”