Local lawmakers have received hundreds of complaints from
residents of the four-county region who are angry over a proposed
surcharge by National Fuel Gas.
On Wednesday, state Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren, said she’s
received almost 600 consumer complaints by residents in her
district alone. Rapp’s district covers Warren and Forest counties
and a portion of McKean County.
“This has truly been a worthwhile experience,” Rapp said. “The
people of Warren and McKean counties should be proud of the way
their community has banded together to get the word out and make
sure that every customer’s voice is heard.”
Rapp was not alone in receiving complaints. State Sen. Joe
Scarnati, R-Brockway, state Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, and
a representative for state Rep. Dan Surra, D-Kersey, at his St.
Marys office, all said they have received complaints over National
Fuel’s 6.9 percent hike.
“We’ve had a steady flow of people stopping by and people
calling and asking for formal complaints,” Causer said from his
Bradford office. “This is a very serious matter and its a good sign
the PUC didn’t just approve it.”
Last month, National Fuel announced it wants to implement a
surcharge that would add a fee to consumers’ bills if the average
consumption drops. While the exact amount isn’t clear, it would be
based on a formula involving the price of gas, the number of homes
served and the average amount of gas used per household.
National Fuel’s request also includes a delivery service charge
of about $9.95 to the average residential customer’s monthly bill.
If approved, an average bill would rise to $153.92 a month.
However, the measure has to be approved by the Pennsylvania
Public Utility Commission, who will investigate the rate hike and
hold a series of public meetings regarding the issue across
National Fuel’s 14-county service area.
A spokeswoman for the PUC said Wednesday the agency has not
scheduled any hearings at this time, but is working to do so.
According to Rapp, she has collected 412 formal consumer
complaints and 148 signatures on a formal complaint petition, which
the lawmaker will hand deliver to the PUC.
Rapp offered her district office’s services in collecting the
formal complaints after the initiative of a private citizen, Bonnie
Corcoran, brought local consumer advocate Ken Springerth to the
Warren Public Library to provide a how-to session on PUC formal
complaints. Since that meeting, Rapp said a steady flow of
complaints have flowed into her Warren and Kane offices in
opposition to the surcharge.
Causer said while he didn’t have an exact number of people who
have complained about the increase, he said many people are taking
the petitions with them and taking the document around to
neighborhoods and obtaining signatures.
“I had one guy from Duke Center who got a petition, went out and
got it filled with signatures and requested another one the next
day,” Causer said. “There is still time to file complaints and I
urge folks to do so.”
Causer said the fact the PUC didn’t immediately grant National
Fuel’s rate hike request shows “they (PUC) are at least listening
to the complaints they’re getting and the need to look at this
closer.”
Meanwhile, Scarnati said his office has heard from a
“substantial amount” of residents over the issue.
“Even if the proposed increase is 10 cents a month, that’s too
much,” Scarnati said. “The actual reason for the increase just
defies logic in my eyes. We encourage National Fuel Gas and other
utilities to keep the public in mind with these increases.
“People are being squeezed from everywhere right now. They are
struggling and I think this gives us a springboard to reinforce the
issue that all is not well in northwestern Pennsylvania.”
A spokeswoman for Surra said his office has also received
complaints, noting the PUC will gather and use them in its
investigation.
National Fuel serves about 210,000 customers in
Pennsylvania.
