ITHACA, NY — Congressman Josh Riley (NY-19) is demanding answers from New York State Electricity & Gas (NYSEG) after the company used incorrect temperature data in certain billing calculations, resulting in adjustments that left some Upstate customers facing additional charges. As part of NYSEG’s ongoing rate case in front of the Public Service Commission (PSC), Riley has filed a motion to compel NYSEG to respond fully to questions about how many ratepayers were impacted by the error, when and how NYSEG became aware of it, how much customers were overcharged or undercharged, how much the new charges will cost ratepayers, and why the company thinks it’s legal to put new charges on customers’ bills as a result of its own mistake.
“At the same time that NYSEG is asking the PSC for permission to raise its rates by hundreds of millions of dollars, it also has been committing billing errors that are seriously impacting my constituents’ ability to manage their household finances,” Riley said. “That alone would be a problem. But NYSEG has made the situation worse by refusing to answer basic questions about these billing errors and their impact on ratepayers, all of which clearly is relevant to whether and to what extent NYSEG should be granted the rate hike it requests.”
In the motion, Riley cited NYSEG’s abysmal customer service record and pushed back against the company’s claims his questions are “not relevant.”
“The law prohibits NYSEG from putting “unjust or unreasonable charge[s]” on customers’ bills,” said Riley. “How are we to know if the charges NYSEG put on customers’ bills are ‘just and reasonable’ if NYSEG won’t provide basic information about the scope and size of those errors, why those errors occurred, how NYSEG learned about them, and what NYSEG did about it?”
Notably, Riley’s motion raises questions about whether NYSEG knew about the billing errors before they were publicly reported, or whether the company failed to identify the errors until they were brought to its attention by the press. NYSEG has acknowledged that incorrect temperature data affected certain billing calculations between February 19 and April 11, 2026.
To date, NYSEG still has not said how many ratepayers were impacted, how many will see additional charges, or how much those charges will total. Riley emphasized that “making already uncertain utility bills even more unpredictable can be a significant hardship, not a mere ‘inconvenience’” for families making tough decisions to balance their household budgets.
In its response to Riley’s motion, NYSEG argued that the billing issue “has been resolved” and continued to oppose providing the information Riley requested. But while NYSEG is asking ratepayers to pay hundreds of millions of dollars more, the company still has not answered basic questions about how many ratepayers were impacted by its billing error, how many will face additional charges, or how much those charges will cost.
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