LIPA Customers Receive Estimated Bills for Period Without Service
This Thanksgiving weekend many LIPA customers received their estimated bills that cover the span of time that service was inaccessible due to storm damage, in which they are charged at the same rate as if power had never gone out.
LIPA customers were without power from anywhere between a few days to a few weeks following Superstorm Sandy, and some customers in Nassau County, and in particularly devastated coastal regions, including the Rockaway Peninsula continue to await restoration.
Outraged LIPA customers have noted that the company itself was inaccessible during the storm, to answer customer questions and provide adequate information about the restoration process.
According to LIPA, meter readers were reassigned during the restoration process, so actual readings were not taken. Instead, estimated billings (based on previous usage, this is the kilowatts per hour LIPA expected you to use during the past month) were sent out to customers.
Next month’s meter reading will reflect the lower energy usage resulting from Sandy’s damage, but some customers have already been able to get their bills readjusted based on their current meter readings. Electric bills have been suspended for customers with severe damage to their homes resulting from the storm, and LIPA also suspended it’s usual 1.5 percent late fees for this billing period.
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