Latest news with #NewYorkStateElectric&Gas
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYSEG responds to Chemung County Legislator's call for investigation into company
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. Chemung County Legislator calls for special investigation into NYSEG '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. DEC to review wildlife protection and enforcement process after seizure of Peanut the squirrel '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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Residents learn about smart meters at NYSEG event
The president and CEO of New York State Electric & Gas met with community members Wednesday at Lockport Town Hall to answer questions about smart meters. NYSEG is seeking the go-ahead from homeowners across Western New York to switch their homes to smart meters. Residents have taken to social media to express concerns about what conversion means for their electric bills. According to a NYSEG fact sheet, a smart meter is an electric meter or natural gas meter with two-way wireless communications with the utility's secure data center. It transmits energy use and meter status automatically. This meter eliminates the need for personnel to read electric meters, and makes detection of power outages automatic. Residents can use Energy Manager, an online tool, to more precisely observe their energy use and costs. NYSEG CEO Patricia Nilsen said the meters ensure that a customer gets a bill on an actual reading. 'With Energy Manager, they can monitor their energy by the hour. Customers can go back two days to see what was used. So if they plugged in an electric car, they can see the difference.' Nilsen said that if the power goes out, smart meters send an alert to the household address. This allows utility trucks to stop only where they are needed, rather than going door to door. Homeowners have expressed concerns that the utility can control a home's power use remotely through the smart meter, Nilsen said, and impose 'black outs.' She assures customers that this is not the purpose for smart meters. Some homeowners have claimed on social media that their utility costs increased after their smart meter was installed, Nilsen said. Most often, she said, this impression is due to customers receiving estimated utility reads before their smart meter was installed, and seeing a difference with the actual bill. According to an October commentary by Christine Alexander of NYSEG, the company, along with RG&E, sends out 2 million bills a month. She said less than half a percent leads to customer complaints. Alexander said the company encourages customers to call so a customer service representative can go line by line through their accounts and better understand what factors may actually be leading to billing variations. Town residents Reggie Rosati and Kathy Galus attended the information session and were able to have their questions answered. Rosati said she walked in unhappy, having received a bill for $1,500 last month. She said she was ready to opt out of the smart meter, but after learning more had changed her mind. NYSEG staff went through Rosati's utility charges and decided that her old meter needed to be replaced at no charge. 'It's definitely the way to go,' Rosati said. 'I'm going to give it a chance.' Galus described reading utility bills as 'reading Greek.' She said she felt better after speaking with NYSEG staff. To speak with a NYSEG customer service representative, call 800-572-1111 (NYSEG) or 800-743-2110 (RG&E).
