Ryan blasts Central Hudson on House floor
Congressman demands utility’s CEO Freni quit over billing problems
WASHINGTON — Saying his Hudson Valley constituents had been “screwed over and ripped off,” U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan demanded the resignation of Central Hudson CEO Charles A. Freni in a speech on the floor of the
House of Representatives on Wednesday morning.
The utility company rolled out a new billing system in September 2021 that resulted in massive billing issues for thousands of its customers, including large, inaccurate automatic withdrawals from checking accounts, inflated bills, and multiple bills issued at once after not being billed for months.
The state Public Service Commission
released a damning investigation into the billing rollout in December, saying Central Hudson was aware of the problems before the system went live. The utility responded by stating none of its customers would ultimately be financially harmed, interpreting state law as giving them two years to correct a billing mistake.
In the speech, a copy of which was given to the Times Union prior to Ryan taking the floor, the first-term congressman described residents who had been impacted, saying a woman from Ulster Park contemplated suicide when she received a statement from the utility 17 times higher than her normal bill, putting her at risk of losing her farm. He also cited the case of Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey, who was backbilled $708,000 last March for gas and electricity at his three-bedroom home.
Saying Central Hudson, a public utility, “has had opportunity after opportunity to own their mistakes and take accountability,” but failed to do so, and that Freni has “irrevocably broken” the public’s trust, Ryan demanded Freni’s resignation. ▶