NYSEG responds to Chemung County Legislator's call for investigation into company

Yahoo

02-04-2025

CHEMUNG COUNTY, N.Y. (WETM) — A Chemung County Legislator has taken to social media to demand an investigation into New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG), but the company said his actions are only adding unnecessary confusion.
On Saturday, March 29, Chemung County Legislator Rodney Strange used his Facebook page to call for a state-level investigation into NYSEG's operations.
The company was quick to respond to Strange's remarks. Director of Corporate Communications for NYSEG, Shelby Cohen dismissed his claims and urged customers to seek accurate information directly from NYSEG rather than relying on social media posts.
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'We feel it's unfortunate that some have decided to ignore the facts and the information that has been provided to them, and chosen to make a confusing situation worse, with seditious social media posts that only serve to misinform customers rather than getting them the assistance that they need,' Cohen said.
Cohen explained that recent increases in customers' bills are due to colder temperatures, leading to higher energy usage, combined with rising supply costs — factors that are out of NYSEG's control.
'The fact is, the increase in bills over the past few months has been the result of colder temperatures that haven driven increased usage, combined with higher supply costs which are unregulated,' Cohen said.
Cohen also pointed to social media platforms like Facebook and Nextdoor as sources of misinformation about the company's billing and services.
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'We're seeing a lot of misinformation being spread in these social media groups, on Facebook and Nextdoor primarily. We really encourage people to come to us with their questions on their bills,' explained Cohen. 'Very often we're able to either help them understand where they might be using more than they realize or talk to them about different rate plans, talk to them about different suppliers that might work for them. Very often these things are very easily resolvable and so we really encourage them to reach out to us or go to our website for information and our social media channels,' she said.
Addressing another common concern, Cohen clarified that NYSEG's smart meters are not responsible for rising energy bills, as some customers have claimed. She explained that the primary difference between smart meters and the older meters is how energy usage is reported.
'Smart meters are not the cause of increased bills. Smart meters work just like legacy or traditional meters, they measure the energy that you use in your home,' said Cohen. 'They just read themselves and send us the read every hour rather than us coming out every other month to read your meter,' she said.
18 News reached out to Legislator Rodney Strange on Tuesday, April 1, for comment on his social media statements but did not receive a response.
As the commotion over NYSEG's billing practices continue, the company urges customers to contact them directly for assistance rather than relying on other social media discussions.
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