Utility Rate Analysis Consultants (URAC) 156 Scranton Avenue (516) 536-4545 fax (516) 594-9413 Lynbrook, NY 11563 email: [email protected] ______
December 17, 2019
Submitted by email to [email protected] Acting Secretary Michelle Phillips State of New York Department of Public Service 3 Empire State Plaza Albany, NY 12223
Re: COMPLAINT BY 25 OR MORE CUSTOMERS Brown Harris Stevens, et al v. Consolidated Edison Company of New York False Registration of Steam Meters
Dear Acting Secretary Phillips:
Please be advised that the fifty-nine (59) Con Edison steam customers herein, managed by
Brown Harris Stevens, and represented by URAC Corp., request that the Public Service Commission
(PSC) begin an investigation into1:
1. The accuracy of Con Edison’s steam meters.
2. The events and tardiness of Con Edison providing refunds after finding false registration on
many of its meters.
3. Any other issue that stems from this proceeding.
This request is prompted by evidence obtained in consumer complaint case 957762 (58th and
Park v Con Edison Company) which reveals that Con Edison was aware of false registration on its steam meters in early 2018 but did not correct the problem or issue refunds to affected customers until late 2019. It is still unclear as to how many consumers were affected and if all those consumers received their refunds.
1 A list of the customer names, service address and accounts number is attached. Also attached is URAC’s authorization to represent these accounts. Ms. Michelle Phillips, Acting Secretary December 17, 2019 Page 2 of 3
BACKGROUND
In the Office of Consumer (OCS) case mentioned above, Con Edison claims that it was aware of false registration on the consumers meters in the first quarter of 2018 but did not offer a refund or actually refund any money until late 2019.2 It also confirmed that many other consumers were affected by the false registration. Finally, in that case, it was clear that the consumer was complaining in 2018 and early 2019 about its high steam bills but was told by Con Edison that nothing was wrong. Only after the OCS case was initiated did Con Edison provide a refund.
With regard to its admission that many steam customers were being overbilled it offered no evidence nor provide any supporting documentation as to what was found, how many accounts were affected, how much consumers were overbilled and whether or not it informed the Commission of its metering problem.
REQUEST FOR INVESTIGATION
The consumers herein, representing a significant portion of all steam consumers billed by Con
Edison, request that the Commission review this matter as:
1. It appears there are problems with meter accuracy.
2. It appears by the current evidence that customers were being informed that the billing was
accurate even though Con Ed staff knew there were overbillings.
3. It took Con Edison almost two (2) years to issue refunds.
4. There is no evidence that Con Edison was going to provide those refunds. In fact, there is every
indication that all of this was being hidden.
5. Customers paid massive erroneous bills causing a myriad of other problems.
2 See letter from Con Edison’s attorney dated December 17, 2019 attached as Exhibit A. Ms. Michelle Phillips, Acting Secretary December 17, 2019 Page 3 of 3
6. There is no evidence that Con Edison informed the Commission of its metering problems.
The PSC being the arm of the government tasked with overseeing utilities and their operations should begin an investigation for the protection of all steam customers. There is enough evidence that surfaced in that one billing dispute case to confirm that an investigation is warranted.
Sincerely,
Douglas DiCeglio
Complainants Representative
C: Joshua Konecni by email John McAvoy by email Property Name Acct Number Service Address 1025 Fifth Avenue Inc 1025 5 Ave 30 Sutton Place Corp 30 Sutton Pl PARK 71 CORPORATION 730 Park Ave 995 5th Avenue Owners Corp. 995 5 Ave 520 Park Avenue Condo 45 E 60 St 655 PARK AVENUE INC 655 Park Ave ONE BEEKMAN PLACE INC 1 Beekman Pl Cumberland House Corp. 681-89 Madison Ave 36 EAST 72 STREET CORP 34-36 E 72 St W2005Z/18 GPS REALTY LLC 18 Gramercy Park S FIFTH AND 63 STREET CORP 820 5 Ave 83 Street Tenants Inc 8-26 E 83 St 834 Fifth Avenue Corp. 834 5 Ave 898 CORPORATION 898 Park Ave ATHENA-LIBERTY LOFTS LLC 43 W 64 St Fifth Seventy Seventh Corp. 960 5 Ave 4 East 72 Street Corp. 4-10 E 72 St 114 Tenants Corp 114-22 E 72 St Sixty Sutton Corp. 60 Sutton Pl 1080 Apartment Corp 1080 5 Ave 740 Corporation 740 Park Ave 79 East 79 Street Corp. 73-9 E 79 St Fifty-First Beekman Corp. 408-24 E 51 St 57 Street Dorchester Inc 104-14 E 57 St The 1411 Condominium 201 E 80 St 117 East 72 Street Corp 117-21 E 72 St Fifth And 67 Inc. 855-856 5 Ave Tenants Association of 955 955 5 Ave 880 Fifth Avenue Corp 880 5 Ave 990 Fifth Avenue Corp. 990 5 Ave 777 Madison Inc. 777 Madison Ave 455 East 57 Inc. 451-459 E 57 St 800 Park Avenue Corp. 800 Park Ave 525 Park Avenue Associates 525 Park Ave Fifth and 88 Inc. 1068 5 Ave 988 Fifth Avenue 988 5 Ave 23 East 79 Street Corp 21-5 E 79 St 50 Gramercy Park North 50 Gramercy Park 920 Fifth Avenue Corp 916-920 5 Ave Residential Board of Galleria 115-119 E 57 St 15 Central Park West Condo 15 Central Park W 14 Sutton Tenants Corp (14 437-53 E 56 St 160 East 72 Street Corp 160 E 72 St 610 Park Ave. Condo 610 Park Ave 1050 Fifth Avenue Inc. 1050-55 5 Ave 50 United Nations Condo 823 First Ave 66 East 79 Street 62-6 E 79 St Madison at 84 Tenants Corp 1115-21 Madison Ave The Grand Millennium 1965 Broadway Hampton House 29 E 70 St 139 Eat 63 Street Inc 139 E 63 St 1040 Madison Inc. 31 E 79 St East 67 Street Owners Inc 1150-54 Third Ave 720 Park Ave Corp 720 Park Ave 772 Park Ave 770 Park Ave 49 East 79 Street Corp 39-51 E 79 St The Siena 186-94 E 76 St The Oxford on 72nd 422 E 72 St 817 Fifth Avenue 817 5 Ave
EXHIBIT A [email protected]
From: Konecni, Joshua A- Regulatory
Mr. DiCeglio,
You requested that the Company review its response in this case in light of the May 7, 2019 email from the Company to Ms. Zigrest, the Customer’s accountant (below in this chain).
We have reviewed the matter and can confirm that the $84,496.30 refund was the result of a false registration issue that the Company self-identified and corrected.
As I wrote in my last email, in the first quarter of 2018 the Company discovered an issue with its smart meter settings (false registration) that had the potential to affect a number of Con Edison customers. The Company reviewed each potentially affected customer account and ultimately determined that a number of accounts required rebilling. The reviews were time-intensive, required field visits, and extended into 2019.
As part of this process, one of the Company’s Senior Engineers reviewed field visit reports to determine if a false registration issue warranted a refund. Unlike technicians in the field, the Senior Engineer was able to review customers’ usage data over time and therefore make a more accurate determination as to whether the false registration issue was present. Because of volume and the time-intensive nature of this work, the Company experienced a backlog in reviewing technicians’ reports.
That is what happened here. On Februa