You have a business to run. It is hard to stay on top of things locally let alone at the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) where your electric rates are set. That’s where the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin comes in. We advocate for all small utility customers from individual citizens to small businesses and farmers for fair, safe and reliable utility service. We monitor the changing energy world and put the utility customer first.
CUB small business members benefit from our team of legislative, utility and communications experts who advocate tirelessly for your business at the Public Service Commission, the state Capitol, in the courts, and at regulatory agencies.
Small Business Membership Benefits:
Advocacy: CUB business membership keeps you up-to-date on issues that matter to you.
- Monthly electronic newsletters highlighting key cases before the PSC, issues before the Legislature, and information to help you control energy costs.
- Action Alerts keep you notified and enable you to get involved, when important decisions are up for hearing/vote.
- CUB works as Your Independent Consumer Voice at the table for small business interests when the PSC sets rates and energy policy.
Empowerment: CUB will help you take action and share your thoughts with Wisconsin government officials.
- Confused by your bill? We can explain it.
- Problem with your utility service and pricing? We will answer questions and help you work with your utility.
- Who makes these decisions anyway? We will show your staff how to interact with the PSC and legislators
Access: CUB can help your organization and employees save resources and money.
- Host a “utility bill clinic” about ways to help residents and businesses save money on their utility bills.
- Promote your support of fair, safe and reliable utility rates with the CUB small business member badge.
Outreach: CUB will help small business members partner with other members and like-minded organizations to bring these issues to the public. CUB staff can answer questions about energy related matters as well as provide free one-on-one utility bill consultations.
Partnership Opportunities: CUB partners with community groups interested in learning about utility issues. We provide presentations on how to understand your utility bills, how the PSC works and how you can get involved. Plus, we can provide information on energy costs you can control. Let us know what you’re interested in, and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.
September 21, 2011: Testimony relating to liability of customers for unbilled utility services
Posted: September 21, 2011 by Leah Steinberg
For Immediate Release: September 21, 2011
Testimony regarding SB 58, relating to the liability of public
utility customers for unbilled utility service
The Honorable Rob Cowles
Chairman, Senate Committee on Energy, Biotechnology, and Consumer Protection
Wisconsin State Capitol
Madison, Wisconsin
RE: Testimony regarding SB 58, relating to liability of public utility customers for unbilled utility service.
Dear Chairman Cowles:
Thank you for the opportunity to testify regarding SB 58, relating to liability of public utility customers for unbilled utility service.
The Citizens Utility Board is a member-supported, nonprofit organization that advocates for reliable and affordable utility service. CUB represents the interests of residential, farm, and small business customers of electric, natural gas, water, and telecommunication utilities before the Legislature, regulatory agencies, and the courts.
CUB supports SB 58, because for too long, many utility customers have had to pay large electric bills caused by faulty meters.
This issue was explored in an excellent series of articles written in August 2010 by Ben Jones of the Appleton Post-Crescent (the three articles are attached to this testimony). Mr. Jones mentioned the plight of the owners of Dorn’s Supper Club, who were billed by We Energies for thousands of dollars due to a meter that wasn’t hooked up and recording properly. Mr. Jones also discovered that, on average, utilities charge customers more for billing errors than they refund to customers, though this varies by utility.
In situations in which the utility meter wasn’t working properly, current law allows utilities two years to bill customers for electricity used but not paid for. Customers have six years to seek refunds if the utility overcharged them for service.
We believe it’s inappropriate for utilities to be able to charge a customer for electricity that was improperly measured by a faulty meter. A malfunctioning meter is simply not the fault of the customer.
SB 58 would make utilities responsible for any billing errors in which a customer is currently liable. The bill would encourage utilities to improve their billing and metering practices, since utilities would not be able to charge other customers for the uncollected amounts.
Thank you for your consideration of our testimony.
Sincerely,
Charlie Higley
Executive Director
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Category: Press Releases Tags: government, News