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Five utilities in New York are facing state penalties after regulators concluded they fell short on basic customer service measures, including customer satisfaction, call handling, and appointment performance.
For many households and businesses, the move could mean at least some money going back to customers instead of staying with utilities that did not deliver the required level of service.
What happened?
According to NNY360, the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) found that National Grid, NYSEG, RG&E, Central Hudson, and Liberty Utilities missed state customer service targets.
Instead of remaining with the companies, the penalties will be applied as "negative revenue adjustments" and returned to customers through later pricing agreements.
"Utilities provide services which are vital to public health, welfare, and New York's economy," said PSC Chair Rory M. Christian in a press release.
The fines serve as a way to hold the companies to account when they fall short of satisfactory service. The biggest assessment went to National Grid to the tune of $16.9 million.
As NNY360 reported, the company missed required satisfaction-survey marks across residential, small-business, and medium commercial and industrial categories, and it also did not meet state standards for answering customer calls.
It met its call-answer target only 58.1% of the time. The company's customer satisfaction figures also fell below state minimums, with residential satisfaction at 72% compared with a required 82%, and small and medium commercial satisfaction at 69.9% against a 78% benchmark.
The report also said National Grid missed at least 883 scheduled appointments, leading to more than $26,000 in customer credits.
Liberty Utilities, which had acquired St. Lawrence Gas, received a $38,744 penalty for missing customer satisfaction targets, NNY360 reported. Other companies were penalized as well for not meeting state standards, though the most detailed figures in the report concerned National Grid and Liberty.
Why does it matter?
Utility service is not optional for most people. When customers are left on hold, appointments are missed, or service issues are not resolved quickly, the consequences can affect heating, cooling, cooking, business operations, and monthly budgets.
Regulators are increasingly treating customer experience as a measurable part of utility performance, rather than as an afterthought. If utilities are allowed to raise rates or operate as essential providers, customers expect dependable support in return.
What's being done?
The PSC's enforcement action is the clearest immediate response. By linking poor performance to financial penalties, the state is making it more costly for utilities to miss service benchmarks.
Over time, stronger oversight could improve service as utilities face greater pressure to staff call centers adequately, honor appointments, and respond more quickly to customer concerns.
"By approving incentives and enforcing consequences for utilities to meet customer service performance targets, the Commission ensures utilities uphold customer experience as a priority by design," Christian declared in the release.
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