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Residents air their power bill woes

The consumers group ACORN meets to discuss concerns about Progress Energy billing.

By ROBBYN MITCHELL
Published June 26, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Phyllis Bryant got her first $400 bill from Progress Energy last month.

She has been living in the same Childs Park home for 33 years and said that this time last year her electric bill was only $150. Bryant thinks that since Progress Energy changed from manual to digital meter reading, her electricity bill has doubled.

She and several other residents met last week with customer service officials from Progress Energy at the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now headquarters on 49th Street S to express concerns.

ACORN organized this second meeting after holding a door-to- door campaign that garnered 534 signatures from residents who are feeling the pressure of higher energy costs and are concerned about billing practices, said Winnie Foster, an ACORN member.

Calvester Anderson, a longtime resident and former Progress Energy employee, said that one of the biggest issues was pay station locations for the elderly and sick to pay their energy bills.

Progress Energy operates a pay station program where local businesses allow customers to pay their bills at the establishment in exchange for increased foot traffic.

The pay station system has caused problems for Midtown residents, Anderson said, because pay stations such as Winn-Dixie add a service charge of $1 and hold individual bills until they receive a large number of bills to be processed, which often results in customers being charged $5 late fees. Winn-Dixie charges the fee and holds the bills because it is not officially a part of the 200-pay-station network in Florida

Willette Morman-Perry, director of customer service for Progress Energy Florida, said that part of the problem for Midtown pay stations is that businesses that have joined in the past have since closed or changed hands and have not renewed the service.

A possible solution of placing a pay station at the Enoch Davis Center, is in the hands of the city of St. Petersburg, Morman-Perry said. Anderson admitted that she understood that the city was responsible but said that officials have been uncooperative thus far.

Representatives from SouthApopka ACORN also spoke out about high energy prices and the Conservation Energy Plan enacted by Progress Energy in 2002.

The plan charges customers 4.9 cents per kilowatt hour for every kwh under 1,000 used a month. Every kwh over the 1,000 mark costs 5.9 cents.

Leroy Bell of South Apopka said that some of the seniors that he represents in the Central Florida community are on a fixed income of $500 a month and are seeing bills in excess of $400.

His concern was whether Progess Energy had programs to help the elderly and those on a fixed income afford the rising prices.

The company does have several programs to aid those in need and is testing several more, said Jennifer Felder, supervisor of customer accounting operations.

Currently, Progress Energy runs a gatekeeper program, in which customers can give employees the authority to contact a social service agency for aid on their behalf.

In Palmetto Park, the energy company tested a program to weatherize the homes of customers who needed to reduce costs.

"We treat every customer on a case by case basis," said Yvonne Borders, supervisor of credit and collections.

"If you or an agency notifies us that you've applied for assistance, we hold off on collections and termination until we know the result."

Morman-Perry collected the names and phone numbers of the concerned parties, including Bryant, so she could personally review their cases.

[Last modified June 26, 2006, 00:18:48]