CHARLESTON, W.Va. — FirstEnergy wanted the state Public Service Commission to dismiss an investigation into the billing practices of its subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison but instead the PSC has asked for more information into the controversy and has promised to schedule some public hearings.
The PSC ordered a general investigation into the situation in June after the commission received a number of complaints from Mon Power and Potomac Edison customers about meter reading and double billing.
Parent company FirstEnergy asked the PSC to dismiss the case. The commission denied the request in a Friday order.
The PSC now wants from FirstEnergy “the number and the percentage of customers who have received two or more consecutive estimated bills; current employment levels of meter readers; the number and types of complaints received by FirstEnergy; the number and percentage of customer complaints resolved on the first call to FirstEnergy and the number of customers placed on deferred payment plans.”
The PSC has ordered the information be submitted every month for the next year. It also said it will hold public hearings in the service areas later this year.
FirstEnergy told MetroNews in June a series of unexpected circumstances caused a number of customers to go without actual meter readings for several months.
“You don’t want to have too many consecutive estimates because then when you have true-up meter readings it can be difficult,” company spokesman Todd Meyers said.
The PSC said Friday that its staff would continue to pursue complaints from customers. The PSC’s Consumer Affair Technicians can be reached at 1-800-642-8544.