近距离内射合集

Attorney General Ra煤l Torrez鈥檚 office hand-delivered a letter to the president and CEO of Public Service Company of New Mexico鈥檚 parent company on Wednesday, asking the state鈥檚 largest utility to explain its billing practices.

In recent months, with sweltering temperatures causing record-high electricity use across the state, customers have complained on social media, to utility regulators and to PNM that their electric bills have been unusually high. 

Mark Hayden, director of the state Department of Justice鈥檚 Utilities Unit, said in the letter to TXNM Energy President and CEO Don Tarry that the office has also received several complaints from PNM ratepayers.

鈥淪pecifically, these customers stated that their bills were estimated rather than based on an actual meter reading, and that the bills were unusually high 鈥� in some cases far higher than normal,鈥� Hayden wrote. 鈥淎ttempts by this office to resolve the matter by telephone and online inquiry were unsuccessful, as no PNM customer service representative was available.鈥�

The complaints, according to Hayden, follow a pattern: A customer receives an email from PNM stating the utility can鈥檛 read a customer鈥檚 electric meter, citing 鈥渦nforeseen circumstances.鈥� The email informs the customer that PNM uses historical electric usage to estimate a reading, and the bill based on those estimates is often 鈥渟ignificantly more than previous bills received by the customer,鈥� Hayden wrote. 

鈥淧NM鈥檚 message to its ratepayers is cryptic,鈥� Hayden wrote. 鈥淚t offers no explanation of the nature of the 鈥榰nforeseen circumstances,鈥� what PNM could have done to prevent or ameliorate them, or how PNM will compensate customers for any billing errors.鈥� 

Eric Chavez, a PNM spokesperson, in an email confirmed that the company received the NMDOJ letter. 

鈥淲e sincerely apologize for the confusion and frustration some of our customers experienced due to our meter reading staffing shortage,鈥� Chavez wrote. 鈥淭hese shortages have caused some customers鈥� bills to be delayed or estimated.鈥�

PNM鈥檚 meter reader shortages come as the utility rolls out its smart meters, which could all but eliminate the need for meter readers. 

A shortage of meter readers also coincided with a mid-summer heat wave that had many PNM customers cranking up air conditioners. Power consumption reached record highs in New Mexico. 

In August, PNM held a hearing in Alamogordo addressing some of those complaints. One Alamogordo man, in a complaint to the attorney general, said PNM overestimated his electricity consumption in June and July.

That, along with the 60-day billing cycle, 鈥渇orced my account into a higher tier for energy rates, which caused this enormous spike in my bill,鈥� the man wrote to the NMDOJ, saying that he cannot afford to pay the bills. 

In his letter to Tarry, Hayden listed at least 16 other similar complaints sent to the NMDOJ. 

Another PNM ratepayer wrote that while 鈥渨e completely understand staffing issues, an electric bill of over ($1,000), when we have not had one over $200 in the last year, is absurd.鈥� 

PNM has taken several measures to correct the billing issues, Chavez said, such as not charging late fees and not disconnecting service for nonpayment. 

鈥淲e are offering payment extensions and flexible payment arrangements,鈥� Chavez said. 

Hayden directed PNM to respond to the letter 鈥� and its requests for information on billing practices 鈥� by Sept. 23 before taking 鈥渇urther action.鈥�

The NMDOJ did not respond to requests for comment.

Justin Horwath covers tech and energy for the Journal. You can reach him at jhorwath@abqjournal.com.