WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Dozens filled the West Seneca Public Library on Thursday night for NYSEG's open house on smart meters.
The devices have been the center of controversy all summer. I have been covering this issue and smart meters for the past three months and giving a voice to the dozens of people who have emailed 7 Problem Solvers with the same billing issues.
"We can't afford it," said Kim Knickerbocker, of West Seneca. She went to the meeting with a folder of NYSEG bills. Many customers like her went to the meeting very frustrated that their bills had gone up so much.
7 News was the only media outlet at Thursday's meeting.
"I think this is ludicrous," Knickerbocker told me.
I informed Knickerbocker that NYSEG's CEO Trish Nilsen was at the public meeting, speaking to customers one-on-one.
"I would love to speak with her and go over my bills," said Knickerbocker who then spoke with Nilsen.
After Knickerbocker spoke to Nilsen she said she felt relieved.
"[Nilsen] is going to have somebody reach out to me, and credit my bill," said Knickerbocker. "She seems to believe that there is an issue...I think I might get some satisfaction out of this meeting...So I appreciate you."
Kristen and Eric Leisner, of Cheektowaga, also spoke to Nilsen at the meeting. Their issue is that their bill showed electric usage went up in the vacant home they moved out of a couple months ago.
"She was nice, and cordial," said Eric Leisner about Nilsen. "To her it didn't make any sense why it was like it was."
Leisner said customer service reps on the phone weren't helpful, but speaking to Nilsen was. Leisner said the CEO told him that the company is going to test the meter on the vacant home to make sure it's working right.
While those couples got solutions, many others left the meeting frustrated feeling that their budgets were blindsided by these rate increase. Some were so mad that they didn't want to stay and speak to NYSEG staff.
Many customers still question why their usage went up if they didn't change anything in their homes, and why bills have doubled or tripled.
Nilsen told me in an interview last month that the company finds issues with less than 10,000 of the 2,000,000 bills they send out each month. She encouraged anyone who has an issue to call the company at 1-800-572-1111
Nilsen said there could be many reasons why a bill went up, especially since approved delivery charges increased this year. She said smart meters do not cause bills to be more expensive.
This was the last of a series of meetings NYSEG hosted in Western New York this week. The first two days of meetings were about billing issues and the third day was about smart meters.
The first two meetings were held on Tuesday in Clarence and Cheektowaga. You can watch our report from Tuesday below and read more here.
The next two meetings were held on Wednesday in Depew and Alden, to review bills one-on-one with customers. You can watch our report from Wednesday below and read more here.
You can watch all of our previous reporting from throughout the summer on smart meter and NYSEG issues below.
After receiving so many questions and concerns from viewers, I brought them directly to NYSEG's Communications Manager Shelby Cohen to get an explanation. You can read more here and watch our report below.
I then went to Depew and spoke to Cathy Sunderlin. She voiced her concerns about an increase in her bill since a smart meter was installed.
"Somebody needs to get to the bottom of this because bills are outrageous," explained Sunderlin. “How am I billed so much?" You can read more here and watch our report below.
I also went to Alex Efthemis' home in Clarence. NYSEG installed a smart meter on her home this summer. On July 24 her NYSEG bill was $108. Just 29 days later on August 22, the bill jumped to $327.
"There is no way this could be right whatsoever," said Efthemis. "We have never had a bill this high." You can read more here and watch our report below.
After our first three reports, the questions and concerns persisted and we were able to have a sit down with NYSEG President and CEO Trish Nilsen. You can read more here and watch our full conversation below.
