Metro Justice calls on City Hall to take action over RG&E billing issues

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Protestors called on Rochester City Hall to take action over RG&E’s billing issues.

Social justice group Metro Justice held a press conference across from City Hall on Monday evening to address what it calls RG&E’s lack of transparency and the mayor’s refusal to hold the utility accountable.

The group wants the city and Monroe County to study what it would take to establish a publicly owned utility.

“So far RG&E has been profiting off of failing again and again and our elected officials need to stop protecting them,” said Mohini Sharma of Metro Justice. “The way that they stop protecting them and actually stand up for rate payers is to create a just energy future for decades, study a public utility, commission that study, and fund it.”

Organizers say they were supposed to meet with officials from RG&E but they backed out.

Mayor Evans says the city cannot lead or fund the cost of exploring a public utility on its own. He says once other towns or counties meet to talk about a possibility of a public utility, the city will be at the table.

In a statement, RG&E says they’re willing to meet with Metro Justice to address their concerns. Here’s the full statement:

We remain committed to meeting with Metro Justice on their concerns and are working on mutually agreeable logistics for a future meeting. We will stress, as we have repeatedly done, how RG&E following severe COVID impacts, is adding hundreds of new staff to the more than 800 workers in Rochester alone, combatting rising supply rates by providing millions of dollars in relief to customers impacted by increase in rates set by out of state energy suppliers, suspending late payment charges, and since 2019 invested over $11 million in economic development. We will work directly with Metro Justice to clear up any misinformation to ensure all residents have the facts on how RG&E is making significant improvements to customer service, investing in the community, creating jobs and providing safe, reliable, and affordable energy to Rochester residents.

More about billing issues with RG&E:

• Following News10NBC investigation, state regulators expand probe into RG&E and NYSEG (Dec. 28)
• Community members speak at town hall to discuss public takeover of RG&E (Dec. 19)
• Frustrated homebuilder encounters more problems with RG&E (Dec. 16)
• Greece housing development slowed over struggles to get RG&E power (Dec. 12)
• RG&E billing chaos continues (Nov. 30)
• RG&E Customers protest at Rochester City Hall (Nov. 21)
• New Business Spends 17+ Hours Trying to Get RG&E to Hook up Gas Line (Nov. 4)
• Business customers having issues with RG&E too (Oct. 28)
• NYS regulators launch new investigation into RG&E (Oct. 27)
• RG&E President: ‘We’re in the storm’ of customer service issues (Oct. 27)
• City leaders flipping the switch, wanting to take over RG&E (Oct. 27)
• RG&E threatening to shut off customers for uninspected meters (Oct. 5)
• Lifespan Helping Elderly Customers Worried about High RG&E Bills (Sept. 23)
• Public hearings begin on RG&E and NYSEG rate hike requests (Sept. 15)
• RG&E president responds to billing issues and PSC penalty (Sept. 14)
• RG&E penalized $900,000 for missing bill service quality metric (Sept. 14)
• Hilton Man Gets $7,622 Bill from RG&E (Sept. 13)
• RG&E and NYSEG to begin installing smart meters across the region (Sept. 6)
• President of RG&E: “We’re working on ways to make billing more efficient” (Sept. 5)
• An Irondequoit man’s big RG&E bill spurs a call to News10NBC (Aug. 31)
• Good Question: What’s behind RG&E billing issues? (July 21)
• RG&E answers questions about months of no bills (March 31)
• After months of no bills, pizza shop owner gets $6,168 RG&E bill (March 29)
• ‘We were shocked’: Marion family facing nearly $1K utility bill (Feb. 14)
• RG&E offers help, suggestions for customers stunned by big bills (Feb. 14)