Haddock wants PUC to reject settlement over PPL billing debacle
Rep. Jim Haddock December 19, 2023
HARRISBURG, Dec. 19 – State Rep. Jim Haddock is calling on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to reject the recently announced proposed settlement with PPL Electric Utilities over widespread consumer billing issues.
“Simply put, the proposed settlement suggested by the PUC’s independent Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement and PPL does not go far enough to remedy the financial hardship that was borne by so many Pennsylvanians. It does not adequately address how many, if any, customers are being made whole by this proposal, and whether the customers who did the right thing and paid their overly high bill were given subsequent credits by PPL on their bills for overpaying.
“For the following reason, I believe the PUC Board of Commissioners should summarily reject this proposed settlement and send it back to allow for public input. The hardworking folks in my area of Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, and all Pennsylvanians served by this utility deserve a more thorough resolution,” wrote Haddock, D-Luzerne/Lackawanna.
“Starting on January 16th of this year, my district office was overwhelmed with phone calls from constituents regarding their unusually high PPL bills. Many stated it was an unexpected financial hardship, and they were not able to get through to PPL by phone to address their serious concerns. I personally reached out to PPL Customer Service through multiple avenues, and weeks went by before I even received a response as a state elected official.
“During my process of investigation into this matter, I was assured several times that the PUC would hold public hearings where the ratepayers could express their concerns, and accountability would be ensured for the 860,000 bills that were affected. Now months later, there is a proposed settlement that was entirely hashed out behind closed doors with no input from the public,” Haddock concluded.