PSC Levied $28.9 Million in Financial Penalties Against 5 Utilities for Failing to Meet 2024 Customer Service Standards

ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) today received an update from Department of Public Service staff on multiple New York electric, gas, and water utilities' failure to achieve their annual customer service performance targets for 2024. Utility failure to meet these targets results in financial penalties or negative revenue adjustments (NRAs), which reduce shareholder earnings, and are automatically credited to customers under each utility's respective rate plan or deferred until the next rate case. No Commission action is required because these financial offsets are self-actuating. Collectively, the penalties or NRAs amounted to approximately $28.9 million for customer service performance measure failures in 2024.

“Our Office of Consumer Services staff conducted an in-depth review of the utilities' successes or failures in meeting their respective customer service performance measures filed as required by each utility's respective rate plan,” said Commission Chair Rory M. Christian. “Ensuring that the utilities operating in New York State maintain good customer service is a top priority for the Commission. The negative rate adjustments being announced today are company financial enforcement payments for missing specified customer service metrics.”

Each of the following utilities failed to meet at least one of their customer service performance metrics in 2024:

• New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG) failed to meet its Customer Satisfaction Survey metric, resulting in an NRA of 19 basis points or approximately $5.6 million. Given that NYSEG had failed its Customer Satisfaction Survey metric in 2023, in accordance with the adopted rate agreement, the 2024 Customer Satisfaction Survey metric NRA would double from 19 basis points to 38 basis points, or approximately $11.2 million.
• Rochester Gas & Electric Corporation (RG&E) failed to meet its PSC Complaint Rate and Customer Satisfaction Survey metric targets, incurring NRAs totaling 25 basis points or approximately $4.9 million dollars.  Similar to NYSEG, RG&E failed to meet its 2023 performance targets for the PSC Complaint Rate and Customer Satisfaction Survey metrics; therefore, the NRAs incurred by RG&E for these two metrics will be doubled from 25 to 50 basis points, or approximately $9.8 million.
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation failed its Customer Satisfaction Index and PSC Complaint Rate metrics, incurring NRAs totaling 30 basis points, or approximately $4.15 million.
• Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation d/b/a National Grid did not meet its Residential Customer Satisfaction Survey or Small/Medium Commercial and Industrial Customer Satisfaction Survey targets, thus incurring NRAs of nine basis points, or approximately $3.7 million.
• Liberty Utilities (New York Water) Corporation failed to meet its Customer Satisfaction Survey target, incurring an NRA of 2.5 basis points, or approximately $86,427, between the company’s two service areas.

While the above utilities failed to meet their customer service metric targets in 2024, several other New York utilities were successful in meeting or exceeding their customer service performance targets. Last year, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., Corning Natural Gas Corporation, KeySpan Gas East Corporation d/b/a/ National Grid, The Brooklyn Union Gas Company d/b/a National Grid NY, Liberty Utilities d/b/a St. Lawrence Gas, Orange and Rockland Utilities, and Veolia Water New York, Inc., f/k/a Suez met the customer service performance measures established within their respective rate plans. PSEG LI, the utility service provider on Long Island, met most of its customer service metrics.

The importance of maintaining good customer service for utilities cannot be overstated. Utilities exist to serve customers and the services they provide are vital to public health and welfare, and to New York’s economy. If a company fails to maintain good customer service, the Commission-approved customer service performance targets will activate to ensure the utility receives significant financial charges to improve their performance.

Today’s report may be obtained by going to the Commission Documents section of the Commission’s Web site at www.dps.ny.gov and entering Case Number 25-M-0003 in the input box labeled "Search for Case/Matter Number." Many libraries offer free Internet access. Commission documents may also be obtained from the Commission’s Files Office, 14th floor, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223 (518-474-2500). If you have difficulty understanding English, please call us at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this press release.

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