Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said Wednesday he is investigating complaints that electric bills have skyrocketed due to "estimated" bills -- since Consolidated Edison, with 8,000 workers on lockout, lacks the personnel to keep up with meter-reading.
"Many New Yorkers have reported grossly inflated electricity charges, some of which may be inconsistent with hot-weather increases in consumption," de Blasio wrote in a letter to Con Ed Chairman Kevin Burke. "These overcharges, resulting from estimated bills, are avoidable, unnecessary, and financially burdensome to customers across the city."
Meanwhile, utility workers who've been locked out all month said at a state Assembly hearing that the managers and replacement workers who are doing their jobs are not following safety procedures and are potentially endangering the public.
Harry Farrell, president of Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America, called the situation a nightmare waiting to happen.
Earlier, Con Ed Senior Vice President John Miksad told Assembly members that the utility is adhering to all safety procedures.
Miksad said Con Ed locked out 8,000 workers because the union would not agree to provide three days' notice before going on strike.
A Con Ed spokesman told the New York Post that customers who think they've been overcharged should email a photo of their meters to customerservice@coned.com.
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