Central Hudson fined $4.7M over customer service standards

GREENE COUNTY―Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. has been fined $4.7 million by New York State for failing to meet 2025 customer service standards.

The Poughkeepsie-based utility is one of five across the state that was hit with penalties totaling $50.1 million, the state Public Service Commission (PSC) announced last week. Others include New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG), Rochester Gas & Electric Corporation, National Grid and Liberty Utilities.

According to the PSC, because utilities are “monopoly delivery service providers,” they have little direct financial pressure to provide quality customer service. Consequently, PSC staff perform a variety of activities throughout the year to monitor the quality of customer service provided by the utilities and to help ensure the fair and appropriate treatment of utility customers. While six utilities provided adequate customer service during the 2025 review, five were found to have missed their target performance standards.

“Utilities provide services which are vital to public health, welfare, and New York’s economy,” said PSC Chair Rory M. Christian.

“By approving incentives and enforcing consequences for utilities to meet customer service performance targets, the Commission ensures utilities uphold customer experience as a priority by design,” Christian said.

Central Hudson failed its Customer Satisfaction Index and Call Answer Rate metrics and was the only utility in the state not to meet target level under its Complaint Rate metric, according to the PCS.

Rate plans for each utility, that are approved by the PSC, specify the metrics against which a particular utility’s performance will be assessed. Negative revenue adjustments are either automatically credited to customers under each utility's respective rate plan or deferred until the next rate case as regulatory liabilities that the PSC can use to offset a portion of the utility’s revenue requirement during some future period for the benefit of customers.

“As part of staff’s review, staff evaluated the utilities’ internal procedures for the reporting of these metrics to the PSC. Staff found the utilities have standard operating procedures in place that adequately fulfil their reporting requirements. However, staff’s review demonstrated some utilities, such as Central Hudson, lacked a system of checks and balances for internal redundancy regarding the reporting of information and only relied on a single employee,” the PSC reported.

According to Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. Director of Media Relations Joe Jenkins, the company has enlisted an independent consultant to evaluate the end-to-end customer journey and identify opportunities to improve performance in key areas, such as customer communications, billing, digital self-service tools, and contact center interactions.

These initiatives, Jenkins said, “build on the customer-focused investments proposed in our current rate plan, reflecting our commitment to delivering the level of service our customers expect and deserve.”

“Our customers have sent a clear message: they expect a better overall experience from their energy provider, and we are committed to meeting those expectations,” he added. “We take this feedback very seriously and are focused on delivering more meaningful interactions every time our customers engage with us.”

“In addition, we’ve initiated a national search for a new chief customer services officer who will lead our efforts to deliver a best-in-class customer experience and advance our goal of becoming a premium energy provider for homes and businesses in the Hudson Valley,” said Jenkins.