LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A lot has happened since January when we first broke the story of NV Energy overcharging customers but only giving partial refunds. A new law has since passed to force the utility to fully refund (with interest) all overcharged customers, and regulatory staff at the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUC) announced the problem is much bigger in scope than originally thought.
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In it's regular meeting Monday morning, commissioners shared staff and consumer concerns that something more needs to be done, voting unanimously to launch a full-scale investigation into NV Energy overcharges following our reporting on the issue.
On Monday evening, an NV Energy spokesperson sent us this statement:
"NV Energy is committed to working with our regulators through a transparent process that provides a fair and balanced outcome for the impacted customers and will continue working with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada through the recently opened investigatory docket. We continue to review customer accounts to correct any remaining miscoded properties and to implement controls and process improvements to help avoid this type of error in the future."
The PUC will be looking into how many people the energy company overcharged; how many years this took place; exactly how much money was involved; how much customers will be getting back; and how to hold NV Energy accountable for what they've done.
"When I call up Nevada Energy they gave me a runaround. They hang up on me," said Irwin Silver, who told commissioners in Monday's meeting that he's been living in his Las Vegas home for 27 years. He recently learned he'd been overcharged by NV Energy and got a $45 credit on his account.
"If they've been overcharging me for 27 years, $45 is not a correct amount."
And Irwin is not alone. In May, the PUC's regulatory operations staff filed a petition showing for more than two decades, NV Energy overcharged more than 80,000 customers over $17 million, capping refunds to a six-month time frame and keeping most of the money the utility never should have collected in the first place.
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"Maybe a penalty on these executives," suggested Tom Dudas, who, amid nods of consent from a crowd of customers, urged commissioners to follow recommendations from PUC staff and the commission's general counsel to formally investigate the utility for misclassifying customers' properties — resulting in the overcharges.
"I save everything and I've got old bills that I looked at and sure enough, I was not classified correctly for 11 years," said retired teacher Carolyn Fowler, who told commissioners she got a $73 credit after what she estimates was about $1,848 in overcharges.
"When I first got the letter that told about the refund, I was a little confused and I just put it aside, but then when our investigative reporter down here — Darcy Spears — started looking into it, then I thought, 'oh my gosh!'"
PUC Chairperson Hayley Williamson said, "I think this is incredibly important," before joining fellow commissioners in a unanimous vote to move forward with a statewide investigation.
We caught up with Carolyn after the meeting to get more information about her overcharges, and she explained the credit she got from NV Energy only covered one billing cycle.
"I'm 74 years old and I'm living on a fixed income. I'm retired, and that money means a lot to me, and I'm sure to a lot of other people," she told me.
After seeing our report that the NV Energy CEO resigned as the scope of the overcharges became clear, Carolyn said, "It's pretty disgusting. Somebody wasn't paying attention. I don't want to say it was on purpose but makes you wonder..."
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The PUC staff's filing says NV Energy chose "not to disclose its misconduct to the commission" and staff only learned of it "through consumer complaints of insufficient refunds."
"It was like they pulled the wool over our eyes! I mean, we were in the dark about this. I think it's a horrible thing to do to people. And it should be set right immediately."
As for the commission's investigation, Carolyn said, "I hope it is an unbiased, thorough investigation and they get down to the nitty gritty and don't spread it out over many years because some of us will be gone. So, I'm really appreciative that you've looked into this, otherwise I wouldn't have been aware of how really serious it is and how long it's been going on."
If you're concerned and still wondering whether you may have been overcharged, you can NV Energy's customer service to confirm you're being billed correctly for your property type. In Southern Nevada, that number is 702-402-5555 and in Northern Nevada 775-834-4444.
You can also file a formal complaint with the Public Utilities Commission.