OLYMPIA — State regulators have issued a complaint against Puget Sound Energy alleging that the utility charged some electric and natural gas customers disconnection fees when they hadn’t been disconnected.
The state Utilities and Transportation Commission, or UTC, staff is alleging that PSE, which provides electrical power to 18,000 East Jefferson County customers, committed 1,639 violations of state consumer protection rules.
The commission staff also is asking the UTC to require the utility to refund customers charged the $13 fee in error.
It is not know how many violations concern Jefferson County residents, said Sharon Wallace, UTC assistant director for consumer protection.
“We will work with state regulators to make sure our customers are treated fairly,” said Dorothy Bracken, PSE spokeswoman.
“We care about our customers and encourage them to call us at 1-888-225-5773 if they have a question about a charge on their bill or any aspect of their Puget Sound Energy service.”
Wednesday’s complaint is in addition to an earlier complaint against PSE that the state filed in October.
In the October complaint, the state said PSE failed to make changes in its disconnection procedure as the state had ordered.
The UTC fined Puget Sound Energy $104,300 in October 2010 for improperly handling disconnection accounts of customers, including many low-income customers.
Bracken said then that the company had changed its policies to reflect the UTC’s interpretation of the state Administrative Code rule.
But in October of this year, the UTC said the changes had not been made.
A prehearing conference on that complaint is planned Monday at the UTC office at 1300 S. Evergreen Park Drive S.W., Olympia.
A hearing date will be set then, Wallace said.
Separate issue
The complaint issued Wednesday is a separate issue, Wallace said.
It arises from an investigation that spanned from March to May of this year.
UTC said PSE was improperly charging a $13 field-visit disconnect fee to customers.
The PSE representative can only charge the fee if he or she was dispatched to the residence to disconnect electric or natural gas service.
Under state rules, PSE may not charge a disconnect-visit fee if the utility visits a customer’s home for a purpose other than to disconnect service, such as leaving a 24-hour termination notice or collecting a payment.
The three-member commission will set a schedule for hearing the complaint.
PSE has 20 calendar days to file a response.
If proven at a hearing, the commission could assess PSE as much as $1,000 for each violation.
The company is not allowed to pass any penalty costs to customers through rates.
