Consumers Energy billing practices, malfunctioning meters under investigation by state commission
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(FOX 2) - As many as 900,000 meters owned by Consumers Energy may be at risk of malfunctioning leading to potential overbilling customers around Michigan, a state commission said.
The allegations from the Michigan Public Service Commission, prompted by numerous complaints sent to the agency from customers around the state, have sparked an investigation into Consumers' practices for billing and delays in electric and gas service.
Customers contacted the MPSC during a transition period for Consumers as it worked to replace the cellular technology that monitors gas consumption from obsolete 3G to 4G-based meters.
The MPSC said in 2019 it had granted Consumers a waiver from its technical standards to allow them flexibility to upgrade their infrastructure. This led to the utility estimating the bills for many of its electric customers for years since neither them nor customers could pull actual readings from the meters.
Employees were unable to read meters due to a malfunction that would cause the screen to go blank. Consumers blamed it on a battery contamination issue, saying it was a problem that went back to 2020.
However, Consumers never brought up the issue when it sought a waiver from the commission, MPSC said.
Beyond just complaints incoming to the MPSC, the agency said it is also investigating whether Consumers committed several violations. Additionally, 177 complaints that came into the MPSC also accused Consumers of taking too long to install electric and gas service.
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In a statement, Consumers Energy Spokesman Brian Wheeler said:
"Consumers Energy is committed to doing right by its customers and improving our performance and communications. We will cooperate with the commission on this effort and are focused on delivering the service our customers and the MPSC expect."
The utility now has until Aug. 4 to provide the MPSC with several pieces of information, according to a release from the agency.
They include:
- Explanations of Consumers' performance history on meter reading from 2020 to present and reasons why customer bills were estimated
- Explanations of Consumers' communications with customers about their estimated readings, the number of complaints they received, and if customers were provided information about how to read their meters
- How the utility estimated billing when it couldn't get an actual meter reading
- Why it didn't notify the commission of its malfunctioning meters