COMMONWEALTH Utilities Corp. acting executive director Betty Terlaje said CUC management will address the complaints regarding the “lack of transparency,” and “lack of communications between customer service and the power division” raised by residents in a board meeting last week.
Commonwealth Utilities Corp. acting executive director Betty Terlaje, right, obtains additional information from Vincent Seman Aldan regarding his billing concerns and job application.
“CUC management acknowledges the dissatisfaction of customers/residents,” she added. “This is valuable to us. It flagged us enough to look into the system to make sure it does not happen again.”
At the CUC board of directors meeting last week, four residents expressed frustrations about the public utility’s “inefficiencies.”
Del Benson reiterated his complaint regarding the “laborious processes” involved in connecting new accounts to CUC’s power grid.
Gus Noble, a small business operator, told the CUC board that he leased a plot of land last year for a new business venture, which also required electricity.
He said he contacted CUC in July 2020 to ask how to get electricity delivered to his lot, and was told that a power pedestal needed to be installed first before CUC would send a team to conduct a land survey and erect power poles.
Noble said he paid for the installation of a power pedestal only to be told by the CUC power division that it was in the wrong place.
He said he ended up paying for the installation of another pedestal.
“I’m a small business owner. These types of delays cost money. I had to pay $6,000 to get the power connected. I had to pay for the poles! I am paying for you guys to increase your power grid, and I can’t get that done in a timely way? That’s just not acceptable,” Noble told the CUC board.
Another local resident, Annie T. Picklesimer, was concerned about the net metering calculations. “Net metering is new for all of us so you want to make sure that [the calculations are] correct.” She noted, however, that Terlaje had addressed her concerns.
Navy veteran Vincent Seman Aldan told the CUC board that he had been overcharged for his electricity usage for three years.
He also showed “threatening letters” from CUC stating that it would disconnect him.
Moreover, Aldan was unhappy with CUC customer service. “Every time I call customer service, [they say] ‘We’re looking into it. We’re talking to the supervisor. We’re talking to the manager.’ It’s been going on three years and I’m still messing around with this issue,” he added.
Aldan said he is a “certified energy auditor, a licensed engine technician, a maintenance mechanic in any industry, a licensed pump and gauge technician, a certified Department of Defense instructor for power generation.”
He said he has submitted job applications to CUC, but he has not received any response from CUC human resources.
Following the public comment portion of the meeting, the CUC board members — chair Miranda Manglona, Janice Tenorio, Jovita Paulino, Mathew Holley and Aubry M. Hocog — discussed the issues raised by the residents with CUC deputy director William Gilmore, and CUC acting executive director Betty Terlaje.
