State adjusts PCLP settlement in Pike

System billing error probed Harrisburg — The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on May 22 considered a settlement agreement that ends an informal investigation into a system billing error that resulted in erroneous bills for 353 Pike County Light and Power Company (PCLP) customers. The Commission voted 4-0 to approve the motion of Chairman Wendell F. Holland to modify the settlement agreement between Pike County Light and Power Company and the Commission’s Law Bureau Prosecutory Staff on behalf of the Bureau of Consumer Services. The agreement directed the company to pay a fine of $35,300 ($100 per customer affected by the billing error). As part of the motion, and in lieu of a fine, PCLP will be required to direct the $35,300 to The Neighbor Fund, a PCLP hardship fund. “The Commission continues to assist low-income customers whenever the opportunity presents itself,” said Chairman Holland. “Redirecting this money to The Neighbor Fund will help provide critical emergency home energy assistance to households in need.” As part of the settlement, the company has agreed to implement additional billing system reviews in an effort to ensure this is a one-time occurrence. The company has also agreed not to recover any of the approximately $35,000 under-billed service from ratepayers. On July 19, 2006, the commission’s prosecutory staff initiated an informal investigation to determine the cause, effect and resolution of an error in the ratchet billing rate applied to non-residential customers of Pike County Light and Power Company. On May 8, 2006, as a result of a customer inquiry concerning monthly billing demand, the company began reviewing its ratchet billing calculations for all non-residential customers and found a system billing error in the application of its tariff. The application error resulted from the implementation of a major billing system conversion in June 1998 during which a programming error occurred. Upon discovery of the programming error, the company quickly identified all affected customers, recalculated all over-billings and credited each customer’s bill in the amount of the over-billing plus interest. The company over-billed 273 non-residential customers 2.6 times per year by $67,967, and under-billed 80 customers by $34,834, over the eight-year period, June 1998 through May 2006. The commission will issue an order seeking comments on the Settlement and modifications set forth in the chairman’s motion.