Frustrated Summit Utilities customers left with many questions
Some Summit Utilities customers have been frustrated over rising bills and have been left with many questions. We reached out to the company to get answers.
During the winter season, gas bills can climb— and in a pandemic, they can get higher. Many Summit Utilities customers have been frustrated with changing fees.
Now, Attorney General Tim Griffin explained that there are many questions.
So, we spoke to Brian Bowen, the Summit Utility Senior Director of External Affairs to get your questions answered.
What is an estimated bill?
What is an estimated bill and why did so many customers see one last month?
"There are certain circumstances like say somebody's meter is not appropriately reading correctly, an estimated bill could go out and that circumstance. What we saw most recently was our customers received an estimated bill as opposed to their actual meter usage," Bowen said.
Why did some see a higher estimated bill?
Why did some customers see an estimated bill higher than what they actually owe?
"In this particular instance, we are going live with a new system as we are transitioning from center points acquisition into summit. As we were bringing that system online, it didn't migrate the data over, we caught the mistake and sent out the corrected bills. And we've taken measures to make sure that that doesn't happen again in the future," Bowen added.
Why have customers seen higher prices overall?
Why have many customers seen overall higher prices over the last few months?
"We had the pandemic for, to begin with, then we had winter storm Erie winter storm Elliott, and then just the demand for the gas for gas in general... We have seen a rise in the cost of gas. The cost of gas is just a pass-through, we don't mark up what we pay for the cost of gas is what our customers pay as well," Bowen explained.
With natural gas prices trending down nationally, when can customers expect to see that pass through to lower bills? Summit said that the answer to this is complicated.
In a statement, they said in part "The {public service commision} PSC reviews these rate filings twice per year, traditionally going into effect in April for summer rates and November for winter rates. During this process, Summit submits relevant accounting data, worksheets, and paperwork... to verify that Summit is charging the appropriate amount."
Attorney General Tim Griffin speaks out
Moving forward, Attorney General Tim Griffin told us last week, that he will make sure Arkansans only pay for the utilities they use.
"I obviously can't look at hundreds of thousands of bills, but what we can is take some of the egregious examples. And make sure that what people were being billed, accurately reflects the gas usage. I want to see that with my own eyes," Griffin said.
Summit Utilities also said that there are programs to help pay utility bills, and they recommend levelized billing across the year to try and avoid surprises.