File a Complaint

The Department of Public Service assists consumers with service and billing issues regarding electric, natural gas, steam, landline telephone, cable tv and water utilities.

Before Filing Your Complaint with the Department of Public Service:

• First seek the assistance of your utility provider – they are required by law to assist you.
• If you are unable to get a satisfactory resolution from your utility provider, then contact the Department’s Office of Consumer Services to file a complaint using any of the listed methods below.
• Please do not use the online complaint form if you received a final disconnection notice from your utility that your electric or gas service will be shut off within 48/72 hours. Call the Department of Public Service Emergency Hotline at 800-342-3355 on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. for assistance.
• If your complaint involves a Shared Meter do not use the form below; see How to file a Shared Meter Complaint.

If you have an issue or complaint with your electric, natural gas, landline telephone, cable television or water company, first try to resolve it with your utility. If you are unable to get satisfactory help, Department of Public Service (DPS) has staff to assist you by investigating your complaint. The complaint process involves three levels of investigation.

Initial Complaint Process

File your complaint online, by telephone, fax, letter or in person at one of the DPS offices located in Albany, Buffalo, New York City, or Long Island. The DPS Long Island office is responsible for handling PSEG-LI electric complaints.

To ensure that utilities fulfill their obligation to provide effective service, we will first ask the utility to contact you and resolve your concerns. If the utility does not contact you with its initial acknowledgement, does not provide you with its response within two weeks or the matter remains unresolved after you have received the response, you should contact us again to request that your case be escalated.

If your complaint is escalated, DPS’s Office of Consumer Services will investigate your complaint and notify you in writing or by telephone of the decision, the reasons for the decision and the action you may take. While your complaint is being investigated by the DPS staff, you must pay the portion of your bill that is not in dispute, or your service may be terminated by the utility.

Informal Hearing or Review

If you believe the initial decision was wrong, you can request an informal hearing or informal review. The request should be made in writing or by telephone and made within 15 days of the initial decision. After the request is reviewed, you will receive a letter stating when and where the informal hearing will be held.

Although it is not required, you and/or a representative of your choice may participate in either the informal hearing or review process. You may be asked to bring certain documents to the informal hearing or send them to the informal reviewer. If you and the utility are unable to settle your complaint, the DPS hearing officer will make a decision on your complaint and notify you in writing of the decision.

Appeal of the Informal Hearing or Review

If you believe that the informal hearing officer’s or reviewer’s decision was wrong, you can appeal it within 15 days of the decision. Your written appeal must contend that there was an error by the hearing officer or reviewer that affected the decision or that evidence not previously available would affect the decision. All appeals, except those involving PSEG-LI, will be decided by the NYS Public Service Commission (PSC). PSEG-LI appeals will be decided by Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). The PSC or LIPA will notify you in writing of their decision.

Guidance Documents

• Guide to Filing Complaints
• Guide to Filing Complaints, Traducción al español (Spanish)