Kevin Spradlin
Cumberland Times-News
January 10, 2008 11:56 am
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CUMBERLAND - Susan Munck and her husband, William, have lived off Georges Creek Road between Midland and Frostburg for nearly three years since retiring and moving from Kansas. The couple chose the site because of its convenient location with family in Carroll County and elsewhere in the region.
In May 2005, Susan put her family on an Allegheny Power payment plan that automatically deducts the total amount due on her monthly electric bill from her checking account. In her own words, she has "never, ever, ever, ever been late." Not once.
So when Munck called Allegheny Power's toll-free customer service number Wednesday morning to let the company know she had no intention of paying the 96-cent surcharge for the next 12 months for receiving two compact fluorescent, energy-efficient light bulbs, she was understandably taken aback by the company's response.
"They threatened to turn off my power if I didn't pay this 96 cents," said Munck, one of 220,000 Allegheny Power residents to which bulbs were sent.
When Munck told the customer service representative she didn't need the bulbs - her home already is "full of those bulbs" - she was told she could give them to a neighbor but, regardless, she'd be charged for them.
"That was really underhanded what they did," Munck said. "It's unconscionable."
Delegate Kevin Kelly agreed, and has requested a bill be drafted to prevent the Maryland Public Service Commission, which approved the initiative, from endorsing such tactics in the future. He sent a mass e-mail to fellow lawmakers Wednesday morning requesting co-sponsors of the "pro-consumer" bill.
The PSC in November authorized the power company's "Demand Response Service." In a letter dated Jan. 3 and posted on the PSC's Web site at www.psc.state.md.us, the commission "agreed with (Allegheny Power) that the Demand Response Service was one of the single most effective conservation programs that an electric utility company can implement in the near future to reduce energy demand, lower electricity prices and maintain reliable service."
The Times-News heard from a number of upset power company customers in the past two days. Cumberland residents Howard Losiewicz, Jeff Hedrick and Richard Kirchner all questioned whether it was legal to send an unsolicited item through the U.S. Postal Service and charge for it.
"If they mail it to you, it's yours," Hedrick said.
Hedrick, an at-home pastry aficionado, said he bakes a mean chocolate chip cookie and plans on sending a tin full of them to Allegheny Power every 30 days - with an invoice equal to his monthly electric bill.
A U.S. Postal Service spokesman said mail customers have the option of refusing an unsolicited item and requesting a refund as long as the package has not been opened. That might work in situations where nonprofit organizations send items, such as address labels, and request a donation.
It appears, however, that public utility customers are out of luck. Power company spokesman Todd Meyers said customers "may be able to send them back, but that surcharge has to be paid whether or not they keep the bulbs."
He said the PSC intended the charge as a way to get customers familiar with the technology of energy-efficient bulbs.
Some people are being charged for the bulbs without having received them. Meyers said "a number of people," but less than 200, had called the customer service center to report not receiving the light bulbs. He said Allegheny Power is ensuring residents will get their bulbs.
Meyers said a rumor that the company had decided not to charge for the bulbs was not true.
"I'm not aware of any reverse," Meyers said of the company's position of the charge.
Meyers insisted Allegheny Power is not making money off the venture. The 12-month combined charge of $11.52 for each pack of Energy Star CFL light bulbs covers the cost of the bulbs, shipping and "a customer education piece" that comes with the bulbs.
Other residents were concerned about the safe handling of the bulbs, which contain small amounts of mercury. The amount of mercury in such bulbs is about 5 milligrams - enough to cover the tip of a ballpoint pen.
If a CFL is broken, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends people open a window and vacate the room for at least 15 minutes. When cleaning up the material, wear disposable rubber gloves and place the powder, fragments and cleaning cloth into a sealed plastic bag.
Literature included in the light bulb mailing directed customers online to www.lamprecycle.org and to www.energystar.gov.
Allegheny Power customers with questions should call customer service at (800) 255-3443 or the Maryland Public Service Commission at (800) 492-0474. For more information, log on to www.psc.state.md.us.
Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.
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