in 2013, a Canadian company that owns utilities in North America and the Caribbean with about 3.4 million customers, according to the company's website. Central Hudson's parent company, CH Energy Group, was acquired by Fortis Inc. He also said the state and federal governments should look into the consolidation of utility companies. "That to me speaks to a leadership failure," he said.Īs well as Freni's resignation, Ryan said impacted customers should be made good by the utility, and that a prudence review - wherein the PSC determines if the utility inappropriately spent money in a way that harmed its customers, and could recoup this money from the utility - should be undertaken. Ryan said when Central Hudson's responded to the PSC investigation by admitting errors but asserting its customers were not ultimately financially harmed, the company "doubled down on their deflection, their denial, their deception." Central Hudson, in its response to the PSC investigation, asserted that most of the PSC comments were about the rising cost of electricity, which the utility does not control. The PSC ultimately received 4,300 public comments from customers protesting Central Hudson's service, and Ryan said Wednesday that more than 11,000 official complaints were received by various officials. It cites a March 2022 Facebook live event held for customers where Central Hudson's leadership admitted having some "hiccups within the system," but spent a significant portion of the 40-minute webcast blaming forces beyond its control, including New York state, canceled pipeline projects, the closing of Indian Point, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, increased global demand and "cold weather," according to the investigation. "Central Hudson has absolutely demolished that public trust, and so the only way to rebuild the trust is to bring in a new leader who will actually be accountable, fix the problems, and then, ultimately, do the work to go out in the community and rebuild that trust."ĭecember's investigation by the Public Service Commission also faulted the utility for how they treated the public as billing issues mounted. these are public utilities that are built on a foundation of public trust," he said. "I just think this has to be done in a public matter. In an interview prior to the speech, Ryan told the Times Union he decided to call for the resignation publicly because Central Hudson "has tried to sweep this whole thing under the rug every step of the way." "Many of us have been fighting against Central Hudson’s disregard for ratepayers long before its billing errors started," Shrestha said in a statement. Jenkins added that the utility is "hopeful that we can meet with Congressman Ryan and any other elected officials to describe what we are doing to improve the billing system and build back trust with our customers as their energy provider."Īssemblywoman Sarahana Shrestha, whose district in Ulster and Dutchess counties includes many customers affected by the billing issues, quickly co-signed Rep. Our number one priority has been and remains resolution of issues with the system, and we continue to make progress," the statement reads. "Central Hudson continues to apologize for the unfortunate impacts that the implementation of the new system has had on our customers and key stakeholders. In a response emailed to the Times Union after Ryan's speech, Central Hudson spokesman Joe Jenkins acknowledged the congressman's comments. "We need a new leader who will come in, improve service, finally fix these systemic problems, and start the critical work to rebuild trust," he said. Freni has "irrevocably broken" the public's trust, Ryan demanded Freni's resignation. 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 CEO Charles A. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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