Central Hudson shifting to monthly meter readings
POUGHKEEPSIE — Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. is starting monthly meter readings rather than bimonthly estimates for about 63,000 customers, mostly in Ulster County.
Customers in the Catskills will get monthly readings later in the summer, according to the company.
Those in the affected communities have already received communication from the utility. Those towns include Denning, Esopus, Hurley, Kingston, Marbletown, Neversink (Sullivan County), Olive, Rochester, Rosendale, Saugerties, Ulster, Wawarsing and Woodstock.
Central Hudson President and CEO Christopher Capone said the practice of issuing bills with bimonthly estimates has become “a pain point” for many customers.
“We have heard their concerns and believe monthly meter reads will provide confidence that a customer’s bill aligns with their actual usage on a monthly basis,” he said in a statement. “We feel this is a critical step in restoring trust in Central Hudson.”
The changeover followed complaints about delayed, confusing and erroneous bills that started with the failed rollout of a new billing system in 2021.
Central Hudson’s announcement about the monthly billing also comes days after the conclusion of a 10-day hearing before the Public Service Department about the utility’s request for a rate hike of about $30 per month each for electric and gas service.
The company cited the need to update its aging infrastructure and the costs of meeting New York’s mandate to switch to green, low-carbon power sources, as among the reasons.
Laurie Wheelock, executive director and general counsel of the Public Utility Law Project, which advocates for utility consumers, said it has questions for the company, including whether the utility had sufficient staff.
She also noted that a monitor’s report on Central Hudson’s billing system is supposed to be out shortly.
In the spring of 2024, Central Hudson expects to move municipalities in the Poughkeepsie, Newburgh and Fishkill operating districts over to monthly meter reading schedules.
Transitioning to monthly meter reading schedules will not entirely eliminate the need for estimated bills in some instances.
Certain circumstances, including severe weather that causes widespread outages, or instances where a representative cannot access a meter to obtain a reading can still result in an estimated bill. Some customers have meters in their basements — in those cases they’ll get monthly bills if meter readers can access the meters. Some meters can also be read remotely, noted company spokesman Joseph Jenkins.
“We make every effort to read these meters,” he said.