Boston, N.Y. (WBEN) - Customers of New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) were invited Wednesday to learn more about smart meters and ways to try and save money with your energy bills in an informational open house at the Boston Town Hall.
A number of company representatives were on-hand to provide residents, business owners and municipal officials information about smart meter installations, including the scope of work, timeline, and customer benefits.
NYSEG communications manager Mike Baggerman says this is part of an outreach effort by the company to connect with customers where they are in the community.
"I know a lot of people have questions about things related to smart meters, HEAP [Home Energy Assistance Program] is beginning in November as well. We want to help answer customer questions, anything that they have," said Baggerman in an interview with WBEN. "That's why we are inviting customers out here today to answer those questions, to engage with our staff and to learn more about some of the nuances with their energy bills that they may not have known before."
Another talking point for NYSEG customers is the company's "Powering New York" proposal, which is plans to address some aging infrastructure across Western New York and New York State. That may also result, though, in a rate hike for many customers.
"We know that here in New York State, there's a need for energy, and we have to replace a lot of the aging infrastructure. That's one of the reasons why we want customers to come out here so we can help answer some of those questions about our aging infrastructures, our need to replace substations that are 50-, 60-, 70-years-old, poles that are 40-years-old. I mean, we have some infrastructure here in New York State that's over a century old," Baggerman noted. "We have a lot of work ahead of us, and that's why we want to connect with our customers to help answer those questions."
Right now, the "Powering New York" proposal is under the regulatory rate review with New York State. What NYSEG is seeking is a five-year plan that will hope to benefit customers in the long-term.
"This will help create price stability for our customers, and allow us to procure equipment. It helps with the supply chain as well, so there's a lot of nuances with our 'Powering New York' proposal that we'd love to talk to our customers about," Baggerman explained.
Outside of events like these community open houses, some of the most common topics that NYSEG officials are concerned about with customers is affordability.
"They want to know, 'How can I keep my bills as low as possible?' That's why we're out here today to tell them there are opportunities such as budget billing, there are opportunities such as HEAP that you can lower your gas bills with," Baggerman said.
If you happened to miss Wednesday's community open house, there are a couple of upcoming chances for customers to engage with NYSEG officials.
"We're doing another event that's happening on Tuesday, Oct. 28 in East Aurora. ... We're also going to have another event in Albion next week, so we've got a lot of community open houses that are going to be taking places again," Baggerman noted. "We want to talk to people about common questions that they have, whether it's smart meters, whether it's about their bills, whether it's about the current state of the grid, energy capacity. We want people to come out, engage with our people, and we'd be happy to answer those questions for them."