The Maine Public Utilities Commission said it would meet Tuesday to decide whether to launch a full investigation into customer complaints about skyrocketing bills and poor service by Central Maine Power.
The move follows a Feb. 27 meeting at which the agency voted to start gathering information about CMP’s metering, billing and customer communications after the October 2017 wind storm.
In the so-called “summary investigation,” it collected data on whether all issues with CMP’s new billing system have been identified and whether the utility is responding to and resolving customer calls reasonably.
The PUC will meet Tuesday to decide whether to delve deeper and launch a formal investigation, also known as a management audit, after receiving hundreds of customer complaints that CMP bills increased unexpectedly, in some cases by hundreds of dollars, and customers had no luck getting an explanation from CMP.
A CMP spokesperson said after the Feb. 27 meeting that the utility is aware of the complaints and is acting to answer questions and rectify instances where customers might have been charged too much.
“We understand customers’ concerns, and we know some feel that factors beyond cold weather and supply price increases may be affecting their bills,” said Gail Rice, a CMP spokesperson. “While we have not found any systemic problems with our new customer care system [billing and customer service], we continue to look for any faults that could affect bill accuracy.”
The March 20 meeting will be held at 10 a.m. at 101 Second St., Worcester Room in Hallowell. It will be livestreamed.
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