BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) and Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E) have announced the launch of "Usage Alerts" for customers with smart meters.
According to NYSEG, three types of alerts can be sent to customers via text or email.
Abnormal Usage Alert
Will tell a customer when daily usage is 50 percent higher or 75 percent lower than the past 30-day average for three days in a row.
Threshold Alert
Customers set a monthly energy use threshold and receive an alert if that amount is exceeded.
Consumption Details Alert
Sent weekly and provides weekly energy consumption details.
NYSEG said customers can customize alert preferences by logging into their account online. The alerts are only available to customers with a smart meter. They are not available to customers with a legacy meter.
“Usage Alerts empower our customers to manage their energy consumption. It is part of our commitment to continuously improve the customer experience by providing more useful, personalized tools that make energy management easier. These alerts help identify changes in energy use and give you greater control over your monthly energy bills.”
Smart meters have been a hot topic and a story we've been following since July 2024.
Patricia Nilsen, President and CEO of NYSEG and RG&E, joined Voices in March to discuss continued complaints from customers about smart meters. You can watch the full conversation below.
You can watch all of our previous reporting from throughout last summer on smart meter and NYSEG issues below.
After receiving so many questions and concerns from viewers in August 2024, 7 Problem Solvers brought them directly to NYSEG's Communications Manager Shelby Cohen to get an explanation. You can read more here and watch our report below.
We then went to Depew and spoke to Cathy Sunderlin. She voiced her concerns about an increase in her bill since a smart meter was installed.
"Somebody needs to get to the bottom of this because bills are outrageous," explained Sunderlin. “How am I billed so much?" You can read more here and watch our report below.
We also went to Alex Efthemis' home in Clarence. NYSEG installed a smart meter on her home this summer. On July 24 her NYSEG bill was $108. Just 29 days later on August 22, the bill jumped to $327.
"There is no way this could be right whatsoever," said Efthemis. "We have never had a bill this high." You can read more here and watch our report below.
After our first three reports, the questions and concerns persisted and we were able to have a sit-down with Nilsen at the end of August 2024. You can read more here and watch our full conversation below.
In September 2024, NYSEG hosted a series of meetings in Western New York to discuss billing issues and smart meters. You can read more here and watch our report below.
In March, Dale Miklas of Lancaster emailed us and said his bills have gone up by more than $400 within a two-year period. Miklas said he knows now that he can't solely blame more accurate smart meters for increased bills, but the higher costs of energy are part of the "perfect storm" too. You can read more here and watch our report below.
