PUC Releases New Guide To Consumer Complaint Process

The Public Utility Commission Monday released a new Consumer Complaint Procedures Guide, designed to educate consumers about the Commission’s complaint process. An additional quick reference sheet, “Know the PUC Complaint Process and Your Options,” also offers handy instructions about how to file a complaint with the PUC.

“These resources are intended to address common questions that are encountered when filing a complaint against a utility,” said PUC Chairman Gladys M. Brown. “For example, it is important for consumers to understand that they should first contact their utility if they are experiencing a problem, and that the PUC acts as an intermediary between the customer and utility. This is one of the most common areas of confusion that we see when consumers reach out to our Bureau of Consumer Services (BCS) to file a complaint.”

The consumer guide and quick reference sheet are available on the PUC’s website. They detail the differences between filing an informal versus a formal complaint; provide an explanation of the complaint filing process; and include information on how to find important forms online.

From January through June, the BCS has received approximately 45,000 consumer inquiries, and, of those, approximately 30,000 cases have become informal complaint investigations. The Commission has received 1,122 formal complaints since January.

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