Xcel Energy going after customers to fix company under-billing error

By Stella Davis

Current-Argus Staff Writer

CARLSBAD ? Xcel Energy is seeking thousands of dollars from Carlsbad customers it says were under-billed over a period of more than three years.

But the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission says the utility company can go back only three years to recoup its losses.

Eddy County government has been slapped with a $16,000 bill. And it is not the only entity that reportedly has been under-billed. The Current-Argus has received a bill for a three-year back payment of almost $40,000. The Stage Coach Inn reported receiving a $22,000 bill

The news of the billing errors and back-billing comes just two days after Xcel introduced its new higher rate schedule. The new rates kicked in Jan. 1

Xcel Energy allegedly failed to set the correct meter multiplier in calculating customers' bills. After discovering its error, the company petitioned the PRC, asking that it allow Xcel to seek back payments. The PRC ruled Xcel can back-bill for only the last three years.

The Current-Argus was informed by Xcel Energy that its meter multiplier had been set at times 40 when, in fact, it should have been set at times 80.

An Xcel Energy official - although non-committal - said there could be more cases than just the county and the newspaper office where the multiplier was set incorrectly.

Vito Desai, Stage Coach Inn general manager, said he received the $22,000 bill for back-payment just before Christmas.

"It kind of ruined Christmas," he said. "They say I owe this starting in 2008 through 2011. This bill they sent is like a thick book. I was shocked when I got it. They made the mistake. We didn't. We should not have to pay this."

On Tuesday, County Commissioner Jack Volpato asked the county facilities manager, Danny Stafford, to explain why the county was $16,000 in arrears for the past three years.

Stafford said the bill was for the Eddy County Sheriff's Posse Arena and facilities. He explained Xcel had informed him that the multiplier was incorrect, thus the calculations were wrong in determining the monthly bill.

Xcel, he said, informed him that the county had been charged a much lower rate and that it now had to pay the difference.

"I have heartburn that they (Xcel) made the mistake and taxpayers have to pay for it," Volpato said. "They have been misreading the meter there for years. They want to get all the money back, but the PRC said they can seek payment for just the last three years. I don't think we should have to pay it.

"The $16,000 was not an anticipated expense and was not included in the current budget. We have the wherewithal to pay it. But what happens to the small businesses and the mom and pop businesses? It could be crippling for them."

Stephanie Dobson, finance manager for the Texas-New Mexico Newspapers Partnership, which includes the Current-Argus, said when first contacted by Xcel Energy, she was assured that the utility company would not back-bill the newspaper.

"After I was told that, they adjusted our bill and I never heard any more. Now we are being told the PRC has approved for them to collect the difference in the amount of $38,361," Dobson said. "I don't think it is fair that affected businesses should have to pay when the mistake was Xcel's."

Volpato said if there are more businesses and residential customers that have been affected by Xcel's error, consideration might be given to filing a class action lawsuit

Wes Reeves, Xcel public relations, said it is Xcel Energy's policy to verify the accuracy of its meters, and when it discovers errors, the company is obligated to account for usage that was either over-billed or under-billed.

"Out of fairness to all customers, we apply recently clarified rules established by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission that state, in cases where customers were overbilled, we must refund the over-collected amount to the beginning of the error, or a maximum of three years," Reeves said. "In cases where we under-billed a customer, we can collect up to six months of the under-collected amount from residential customers and no more than three years from non-residential customers. We work with under-billed customers to set up flexible payment arrangements."

Source: http://www.currentargus.com/ci_19668504?source=rss_viewed

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