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Some PPL customers saw no correction in their latest bills

The Citizens' Voice - 2/24/2023

Feb. 23—Some PPL customers who suspect they were overbilled for electric usage in their January bills said it wasn't corrected when they received their February bills.

"They haven't fixed anything. They didn't correct anything," said Bear Creek Twp. resident Tyrone Gayeski, whose latest bill was more than $1,400.

Gayeski, an Air Force veteran who served in the Vietnam War and who also served as a Bear Creek Twp. supervisor for 18 years, said his monthly bill in January amounted to about $895, an increase of about $581 from his previous monthly bill of nearly $314.

His new bill included the $895 from last month's bill that he already paid along with more than $600 in new charges.

In January, PPL sent estimated bills following a technical issue in December that temporarily prevented the billing system from accessing meter data. PPL asked that customers pay the estimated bill amount and if there was any difference between the estimated bill and the actual usage, they were told it would be reconciled on their next bill.

Plains Twp. resident Elizabeth Baumeister, copy editor at The Citizens' Voice, also said nothing was corrected in her February bill from her "outrageous" January bill of $573, more than triple the amount of her previous month's bill.

Baumeister said she still hasn't paid her January bill and filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

"Basically what happened is nothing," she said. "It wasn't corrected. It still says I owe the full amount from the January bill, which is now past due."

While her February bill is high, she said it is not as high as January and the usage is normal. Since she already filed a complaint with the PUC, she said she's not sure if she could call PPL again about the latest bill.

"It's frustrating. I feel stuck," Baumeister said. "I get that rates have gone up, but this is more than that. Who can afford this?"

Alana Roberts, a spokeswoman for PPL, said Thursday that as a result of the data transfer issue in December, some customers received bills with inaccurate or missing supplier charges.

She said this issue impacted a minority of shoppers whose suppliers require very detailed usage data — usage every 15 minutes — in order to bill. Affected customers were charged for electric delivery, but their bills either did not include supplier charges or the charges were incomplete.

"To resolve this, we are taking actions over the next several weeks by canceling those incorrect bills and issuing new bills with accurate supplier charges," Roberts said. "This effort began on Feb. 11 and should be completed by early March. We are reaching out to all impacted customers with a letter that shares information on the rebill process and apologizes for the inconvenience."

Roberts also reminded customers there will be no late fees incurred in connection with payment of these new bills. and that no customers will be shut off for non-payment through the end of March.

Hazleton resident Sandy Tritt said PPL electricity isn't her family's main heating source and she doesn't understand why their bills for January and February were "more than anything we've ever paid."

"If anything, the usage would have been less. We did not expect this month's bill to be more," Tritt said. "This is crazy. I don't understand it. For the bill to be the highest we ever paid this month, we're just shocked and we don't know what to do."

PUC said it has initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding unusually high bills along with the accuracy and integrity of PPL's billing practices.

Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2115, @CVAllabaugh

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