Snohomish County Public Utility District

*** Please See Attached Documents ***
March 7,
Revdex.com
PO Box
Dupont WA
RE: ID ***
Dear Mr***:
I am responding on behalf of our CEO/General Manager, Craig WC***, regarding the consumer complaint filed by Mr
*** ***. We appreciate the opportunity to address the concerns raised by Mr*** and have provided this same response to the Attorney General of Washington.
In September, we moved to billing PUD customers monthly Meters continue to be read every other month. In between actual meter reads, PUD bills are estimated based on the usage from the same period of the previous year
I have spoken with Mr*** regarding his allegation that the PUD is not reading his meter and is overcharging him for electricity used at his residence. Mr*** has been at this same location for over two years and his electric consumption is in line with prior years. I believe that Mr*** is demanding a refund of all the electric bills he has received since monthly billing was implemented because he believes it is illegal for PUD to bill monthly with estimated meter readings. Unfortunately, I was not able to convince Mr*** that PUD’s meter reading and billing practices are lawful and his request for a refund of $1,was not justified and was being denied.
We appreciate feedback from our customers and continue use all comments to actively improve our billing systems and processes. If I can provide more information on any of the above, please let me know.
Sincerely,
*** ***
SrManager, Customer Accounting & Meter Reading
425-783-
***@snopud.com

We are responding to the Revdex.com complaint filed with the Revdex.com of Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington by Mr*** *** *** a customer of Snohomish County PUDWe appreciate the opportunity to review the concerns raised by Mr***As you know, as a municipal corporation, the District is
exempt from the operation, but not the benefits, of the Consumer Protection Act
We have made numerous efforts to contact Mr*** regarding the high winter bill concerns presented in his inquiryTo date he has not responded to our voicemail messagesA review of our records indicate Mr***’s usage is slightly higher than in prior years at this same premise, during the same periodThis usage reflects a correlation with colder temperatures which we have seen this past winterWith our present process of estimating utility bills every other month, our customers are still billed and pay for only what they’ve used during a two month periodAfter about thirty days of energy usage since the last actual meter reading and billing, we estimate how much energy a customer has used and bill them for itThe following month we get an actual read and then true up the usageThis ensures that our customers pay only for what they’ve used during the two month period
The decision was recently made to move from estimated readings to actual readings-every monthWhile we considered a number of alternatives, reading meters monthly was determined to be the only remaining option that clearly met our criteria of lowest reasonable cost while being consistent with sound, utility business practicesWe plan on beginning to read meters monthly starting in the Fall of
We thank Mr*** for his feedback and encourage him to reach out to us with any additional questions he may haveI’ve provided my direct phone number below should Mr*** wish to contact me directly. If we can offer more information on any of the above, please let us know.
Best Regards,
Karen** S***
Senior Manager, Customer Service
Snohomish County PUD #

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meSincerely, *** ***

Good Afternoon Mr***,
We are in receipt of a Revdex.com complaint that involves a Billing or Collection Issue. Specifically, the problem statement submitted to them indicated that you believe *** County PUD is overcharging you via your PUD billing The complaint further
states that your PUD bills have doubled and you’ve not used any more power than usual
We appreciate you reaching out in attempt to learn more about your individual billing situationA review of our billing records indicates the usage at your property is right in line with the prior years (same time frame)On average, during winter months you use approximately 155-kWh per day, which equates to approximately $per month at the current rates Please see the graph I included below for your purviewBy looking at your usage, it appears that our estimation algorithms are working as designedHow our estimation works is after about thirty days of energy usage since the last actual meter read and billing, we estimate how much energy you’ve used (in your case it’s based on last year, same period) and then bill you for itThe following month, we then come out and get a read and true up the prior estimationJust like previously when we were on a bimonthly schedule, our customers still pay for what they use over a two month period
As a public utility, all commodity costs must be passed along through rates as we are a not-for-profit organizationThis means that whatever we bring in that is in excess must be reapplied back to the rate baseAs a side note, the decision was recently made to move from estimated readings to actual readings-every monthWhile we considered a number of alternatives, reading meters monthly was determined to be the only remaining option that clearly met our criteria of lowest reasonable cost while being consistent with sound, utility business practicesWe plan on beginning to read meters monthly starting in the Fall of
I’d be happy to discuss this with you in more detail. Please feel free to give me a call back at your convenience to discuss any additional concerns you may haveKaren
Karen KS***
Senior Manager, Customer Service
*** PUD #
Ofc. 425-783-
*** ***

March 7, 2016
 
Revdex.com
PO Box 1000
Dupont WA 98327
 
RE:  ID [redacted]
 
Dear Mr. [redacted]:
 
Thank you for providing the additional information from the consumer.  Again, meters continue to be read every other month.  Therefore, the total consumption between two actual meter reads is the precise amount of electricity consumed where a portion of the usage was billed one month with an estimated meter reading and the remainder billed the next month with an actual meter reading.
       
Sincerely,
 
Marsha R[redacted]
Sr. Manager, Customer Accounting & Meter Reading
425-783-8529
[redacted]@snopud.com

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
They even admitted in there statement of estimating my bill from years previous use.
Things change, They cannot base a bill off of what I used in a prior year.
I might have changed all the lights, appliances etc... in my house to more efficient power use.
I was gone pretty much of all of December and had left 1 light on in the house and one outside light on the outside.
Both lights are only 14watts each.
Please explain how my bill was in the hundreds?
They are robbing people of there money and they belong in jail. Sincerely,[redacted]