OLYMPIA — State regulators issued a complaint against Puget Sound Energy on Wednesday alleging that the company failed to make changes ordered a year ago in the way it handles accounts of customers disconnected for nonpayment.
The state Utilities and Transportation Commission — or UTC — fined PSE $104,300 last October for improperly handling disconnection accounts of customers, including many low-income customers.
Dorothy Bracken, PSE spokeswoman, said then that the Bellevue-based utility company, which provides electrical service to more than 17,400 customers in East Jefferson County and in much of Puget Sound, had changed its policies to reflect the UTC’s interpretation of the Washington Administrative Code rule.
But Wednesday, a UTC spokeswoman said the changes had not been made.
“The company did not make the changes that it had originally been ordered to do by the commission,” said Marilyn Meehan.
Terri-Ann Betancourt, PSE spokeswoman, said PSE staff members had not seen the complaint.
“From our staff perspective, we changed our procedures,” she said.
“We will have to see if it was what the UTC was looking for,” she added.
“We will be working with UTC to correct any procedural issues.”
PSE has 20 calendar days to file an answer to the complaint, Meehan said.
The UTC will then decide if a hearing is in order, she added.
State complaint
The state complaint alleges violations of an order directing the utility to correctly apply “refusal of service” requirements.
The state said the penalty issued against PSE last October was for providing customers with inaccurate or misleading information regarding how much they must pay to reconnect their electric or natural gas service and improperly handling accounts of customers disconnected for nonpayment.
The company also improperly applied energy assistance pledge funds made to low-income customers’ accounts that were intended to help consumers keep the lights and heat on during the winter months, the state said.
The UTC ordered PSE to correct its mishandling of 26 customer accounts, which were a random sampling of hundreds of disconnected customer accounts.
Sharon Wallace of the UTC said last year that none of the 26 accounts sampled were in East Jefferson County but that the agency figured that many more accounts than those were affected.
Now, the UTC staff alleges up to 515 violations of the 2010 order.
If proven at a hearing, the commission could assess PSE as much as $1,000 for each violation.
Betancourt said PSE did not pass on the fine levied last October to customers — and if a fine is the result of the state’s present action, that also will not be paid by customers.
The state said the company is not allowed to pass penalty costs to customers through rates.
Betancourt urged customers who have difficulties paying their bills to phone PSE at 888-225-5773.
“We can help them with payment plans,” she said.
A copy of the complaint is at www.utc.wa.gov/110808.
