FOLLOWING YEARS-LONG PUSH BY CONGRESSMAN RYAN, PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION ANNOUNCES HISTORIC $60+ MILLION SETTLEMENT WITH CENTRAL HUDSON OVER BILLING FIASCO; PENALTY TO BE FUNDED PURELY BY SHAREHOLDERS, NOT RATEPAYERS
Following Years-Long Push by Congressman Ryan, Public Service Commission Announces Historic $60+ Million Settlement with Central Hudson Over Billing Fiasco; Penalty to be Funded Purely by Shareholders, Not Ratepayers
PSC investigation was initially launched in March 2022, in response to then-County Executive Ryan’s formal request for action
Settlement includes $4M Customer Benefit Fund, to deliver direct relief to impacted customers
Settlement also includes significant financial penalties for Central Hudson if they do not implement monthly meter reading across their entire service area by October; additional financial penalties are still possible if PSC recommendations are not followed in full
KINGSTON, NY – Today, following a years-long push by Congressman Ryan, the Public Utility Law Project (PULP), elected officials across the region including Senator Hinchey, County Executive Metzger, and Assemblywoman Shrestha, and the entire Hudson Valley community, the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) announced a historic $60+ million settlement with Central Hudson over its billing fiasco. This penalty, as Ryan has demanded on numerous occasions, will be funded solely by shareholders, not ratepayers. The PSC investigation was initially launched in March 2022 in response to then-County Executive Ryan’s formal request for action. Crucially, this settlement includes a $4M Customer Benefit Fund, which will be used at the PSC’s discretion to deliver direct relief to impacted customers. The settlement also includes significant financial penalties for Central Hudson if they do not implement monthly meter reading across their entire service area by October of this year, with additional financial penalties possible if PSC recommendations are not followed in full.
“As your County Executive and your Congressman, but most importantly, as your neighbor and fellow ratepayer, we’ve fought this battle against Central Hudson together for years. I always said we’d never back down until every ratepayer was made whole – today, we finally held them accountable,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “This settlement, paid for solely by shareholders, and including direct relief for ratepayers, is a direct result of collective and relentless advocacy, particularly the tireless efforts of everyone at PULP. These multi-billion dollar monopolies have more than enough power and profits – today, we returned that power to Hudson Valley families. But the fight isn’t over yet. I promise I’ll continue to hold their feet to the fire and stand up against Central Hudson’s outrageous proposed rate hikes.”
“Today’s settlement announcement is a major step forward to hold Central Hudson accountable and rectify the issues that have plagued customers since the fall of 2021. We thank Congressman Ryan and all of the other elected officials, community-based organizations, and individual customers whose stories and efforts were instrumental in helping the Department and Commission understand the experiences of customers,” said Laurie Wheelock, Executive Director and Counsel of the Public Utility Law Project of New York (PULP). “PULP will continue to monitor these developments closely and ensure that the principles of accountability and compliance are upheld.”
“I want to thank the Chair Christian and the Commission for today’s decision, which rightly penalizes Fortis/Central Hudson shareholders, including the company’s top management, for the harm inflicted on thousands of residents and small businesses by mismanaging billing and cutting costs for the sake of profit,” said County Executive Jen Metzger, who also co-founded and previously directed the utility watchdog, Citizens for Local Power. “It was important for the Commission to complete the investigation and prudence review before issuing any Order on the rate case to ensure justice for ratepayers, hold the Fortis/Central Hudson accountable, and prevent utility behavior like this in the future.”
"The decision today by the PSC is a major step forward in finally holding Central Hudson accountable for its negligent billing practices that have been plaguing customers since 2021. Despite having years to fix its system, Central Hudson has passed the buck and, in doing so, has failed to take accountability or right the wrongs they have caused. This settlement finally forces Central Hudson to change its practices while also protecting ratepayers by ensuring that shareholders will be the ones paying this cost,” said Senator Michelle Hinchey. “While this ruling forces a systemic change within Central Hudson, it does not change the fact that individual customers have been harmed, with many continuing to face billing problems still today. The process for individuals to seek justice directly with the PSC still stands, and those affected should file independent cases with the Department of Public Service (DPS). This settlement reinforces what we've been fighting for since 2021 when we introduced the bill to ban estimated billing once and for all: that Central Hudson has failed in their responsibility to provide reliable service to their customers and must work to regain the trust of Hudson Valley residents. I thank the PSC for listening to our calls for action, for their diligence, and for their commitment to holding Central Hudson accountable while doing everything within their purview to ensure that this never happens again."
“My constituents and I are relieved to see a long overdue decision come out of the investigation of Central Hudson’s billing practices that have affected thousands since 2021,” said Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha. “While we find this to be a welcome step, we’ll be digging into the details to fully analyze the merit of the settlement and ensure there are robust monitoring protocols included. I want to note that we recently heard from a ratepayer who lives in an RV and didn’t get a bill for over a year, and when they finally did, it was for $6,000. With unresolved billing issues like these, we urge both the PSC and Central Hudson to pause account shutoffs until every case has been resolved. Considering how much time we’ve given Central Hudson to fix the issues, the same consideration should be given to customers so that they can catch up with their bills without losing access to energy."
In March of 2022, while serving as Ulster County Executive, Ryan demanded that the PSC launch an investigation into Central Hudson’s failed billing practices.
On August 18, 2023, the PSC required that Central Hudson pay for the installment of an independent monitor to review the company’s erroneous billing practices and oversee the correction of its billing systems. Despite Central Hudson customers continuing to experience billing issues, Central Hudson requested a rate increase of 16% for electricity and 19% for gas. In January, the PSC announced that it chose litigation instead of negotiation in its rate case with Central Hudson.
Congressman Ryan has made repeated calls for Central Hudson’s rate increase request to be rejected until its billing systems are fully fixed and every customer that was wronged is made whole. Last October, Congressman Ryan demanded that the rate increase request be rejected and applauded the Public Utility Law Project of New York (PULP)’s filing of a motion to deny Central Hudson’s request for a utility rate increase. In January, Congressman Ryan organized his own hearing with local elected officials and Central Hudson customers to demand the rate increase be rejected. In March, when the independent monitor’s report on Central Hudson’s billing practices was weeks overdue, Congressman Ryan led local officials in calling on the PSC to uphold its transparency pledge and release the report immediately, noting that the information contained in the report is critical for the pending rate increase case. In May following a judge’s recommendation of a partial rate increase, he again called for the rate increase to be rejected and for Central Hudson to host additional public comment hearings on its proposed rate increase. That month, Ryan also joined with other local elected officials to call for a prudence review and civil penalty assessment to begin to make whole the Central Hudson customers who suffered from Central Hudson’s failed billing practices.
Since Congressman Ryan’s calls for an investigation into Central Hudson’s disastrous billing practices, he has received more than 11,000 formal complaints. A New York State Department of Public Service report revealed that Central Hudson’s billing system was riddled with hundreds of programming errors. This led to nearly 5,000 customers not receiving their bills, 8,000 customers being overcharged, and more than 30,000 customers whose autopay was billed incorrectly, costing them over $16 million.
Central Hudson replaced its CEO following Representative Ryan’s calls for his resignation on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. Ryan has held a series of workshops connecting Central Hudson customers in NY-18 with company representatives to resolve billing issues, to establish accountability, and to rebuild trust.
###