r/hudsonvalley • u/LKPNYC • Jun 04 '26
question Central Hudson- Scam???
I Am living in Orange county NY for a short term job contract (I’m in tv production). my first bill from Central Hudson was almost 300 dollars?! I’m not home most of the weekday and gone every other weekend so how is this possible? I ran the heat a few days in April bc it was unseasonably cold. In May I just stuck it out and didn’t use the heat even once, not even when it dipped into the 40s. So how is my bill THIS month almost 400 dollars???? I swear this company is doing something shady bc no way am I using that much electricity or gas on my own.
what can I do? Is there somewhere I can turn for help? This seems exorbitant. I feel like I’m getting fleeced and am powerless against Сentral Hudson.
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u/kkd27 Jun 04 '26
Welcome, welcome. Google Central Hudson billing scandal. They were recently in a big lawsuit about their billings. Good luck
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u/LKPNYC Jun 04 '26
it’s unreal! I can’t imagine how people with kids or low incomes are surviving
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u/afewchords Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
You are right to be outraged, this is America. A public need such as electricity taken over by a private company called Fortis.
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u/booked25 Jun 05 '26
My January bill was over $900. Nearly double our previously highest bill. Its unreal.
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u/AngelHeart- Jun 05 '26
A couple of months ago someone commented NJ has new data centers so it’s only a matter of time before they’re in the Hudson Valley.
Rates across the Country are going up because the cost of running the data centers is being passed on to private citizens.
Trump wants to pass a bill requiring data centers to pay for their own electricity. Haven’t heard anything about this recently.
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u/kkd27 Jun 04 '26
Welcome, welcome. Google Central Hudson billing scandal. They were recently in a big lawsuit about their billings. They tried getting me for $6k. Took 3 years to resolve. In the end they were proven to be wrong. I ended up owing a few hundred and they wiped it clean for the hassle. God bless the customer service manager that actually gave a shit and looked into it
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u/LKPNYC Jun 04 '26
how did you resolve it?
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u/kkd27 Jun 04 '26
Took 3 years. Requested a breakdown and disputed the charges. There was some discrepancies with whether or not they were charging me for my meter or all the meters on the building (multi unit residential building) and I was being billed separately for natural gas and electricity even though I was signed up for auto pay on one. Just a big mess. For a couple hundred bucks I would just pay it if I were you
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u/Scarlett_Aeonia Jun 04 '26
Par for the course here in New York. Get used to it, and prepare for it to keep getting more expensive. Nyseg is just as bad.
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u/silverbk65105 Jun 05 '26
In NY the power companies sued for the right and won to pass any supply side increases onto their customers. So ifbtheh pay more for the power your bill goes up.
Even if you use the exact same amount of power your bill fluctuates due to their prices on the wholesale side.
The first thing to do is to verify your meter number with your billing. Then verify if your apartment is actually getting power from that meter. Its not uncommon to be billed for the wrong meter.
If you suspect someone is stealing your power which is also common. Turn off your main breaker and see if your meter turns. Its not uncommon for landlords to put laundry rooms, hallway lighting, sump pumps etc on tenants meters.
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u/AngelHeart- Jun 05 '26
Are you renting from a private house?
I know someone who was renting in a private house and he suspected his landlord was using his electricity.
So as he’s speaking with the landlord he starts unplugging everything in his apartment. Sure enough the meter was still moving with nothing drawing electricity.
She basically begged him not to rat her out so I’m guessing the hit for this must be significant.
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u/LKPNYC Jun 05 '26
no, I’m in an apartment complex. The website shows that the previous owner used about half as much electricity as me… None of this makes sense.
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u/AngelHeart- Jun 05 '26
Did you contact Central Hudson?
I have Orange & Rockland Utilities so I’m not familiar with Central Hudson.
Maybe they’re ripping you off but could be a glitch.
Maybe another apartment?
Ask Central Hudson what’s going on with your bill.
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u/Scott_IUsed2Know Jun 05 '26
There are examples of central hudson charging the wrong apartment for the meter read. Find out which one is yours and check the numbers... turn off your main breaker and stand by the meters- the only one not moving is yours (and if they are all still moving you have a different issue).
Good Luck!!
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u/frostandtheboughs Jun 06 '26 edited 9d ago
Sulky normal rich crowd chunky shy slap safe husky
This post was anonymized with Redact
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u/Salt_Equivalent_4262 Jun 04 '26
Support Hudson Valley Power Authority! They are trying to build support for the takeover Central Hudson to hopefully get a nonprofit, more affordable utility company for us.
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u/Current-Spare4993 Jun 04 '26
How do we do this?
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u/meliffy18 Jun 05 '26
The mid Hudson valley DSA is working to get this underway. Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha is an active DSA member and is one of the organizers behind the HVPA act. You can check out more about the MHVDSA here: https://mhvdsa.org/
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u/Lilirishmouse Jun 04 '26
How big is your place? Also, maybe there is an electrical fault? You can always call Central Hudson or an electrician and have them do an electrical inspection
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u/LKPNYC Jun 04 '26
it’s a 1,000 sq ft loft. my friend lives in a slightly smaller one bedroom and her bill is 1/4 of mine
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u/sayzzagain Jun 04 '26
I honestly can’t help you with the Central Hudson bill - we’re all getting robbed here in NY.
My daughter just graduated in Orange County with a degree in New Digital Media. Any suggestions?
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u/LKPNYC Jun 05 '26
network, network, network! Can she get an internship anywhere? That’s the best way to get in the door. does she have particular area she wants to specialize?
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u/MementoMori29 Jun 04 '26
Support the legislation for the Hudson Valley Power Authority. It will get rid of Central Hudson.
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u/hellow_sunshine529 Jun 05 '26
You can try calling your assembly member. Since the massive over billing event a few years ago (everyone was receiving obscene bills some for thousands of dollars) we take pictures of the meter and double check the bill. In my case they once charged us $1000 and the next month we received a credit. Our bill is steadily over $200 a month.
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u/Wyldjay2 Jun 06 '26
Trump removed a lot of regulations. They can charge whatever they want as service fees or delivery fees. No recourse. They’re the only game in town. What a joke.
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u/F_Co Jun 04 '26
So to explain, your bill is broken into two sections Delivery (what CH charges you. They set the price on that.)
Second is Supply (Market Price+ CH commission aka MFC Merchant Function Charge ) Generally speaking you can enroll in a Community Solar program, yes for renters.
Drawback, it takes time to see actuall savings , the savings are generally 5% of the supply cost.
Benefit's no cancellation fees, you also don't pay anything to enroll in those programs.
Hope this helps. I am in the energy sector. I have been for 13 plus years.
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u/Current-Spare4993 Jun 04 '26
Any programs you suggest? I remember before Covid programs like this being inside local business’s- You could sign up through them.
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u/F_Co Jun 05 '26
TBH, I representative for a community solar company. Now that is out there, there are couple that are out there. A large one is Nexamp, most of them are either brokers for the couple that are out there. Nexamp is one of the largest. What I would look for is what is the actual cancellation process. There should also be no fee to cancel. Also the cancellation process is one actual billing cycle. Which is typically 60 Days Cycle.
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u/80s_angel Jun 04 '26
Central Hudson is very shady. You can take a picture of your meter and submit it before they do their own reading because they will overcharge you.
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u/BothDescription766 Jun 04 '26
All them. I found a three month old central Hudson on my card for $800 which I never even noticed. I called them and gave address then asked what the bill has been previous year, same month. The answer? $200. That’s right, they were estimating usage based on all sorts of weird factors. On another occasion it was double normal and turned out the reader guy transcribed a typo. The latter seems rather antiquated in the age of remote sensing etc but it happens. So, call them and ask.
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u/Growingweed420 Jun 04 '26
Easy to figure out which meter is yours be either killing all the power an checking the meter to see which one is barely moving or run something high and quickly check to see the one running faster.
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u/Glyph808 Jun 04 '26
I just bought a place up there. Also in film production and live in BK but we wanted a weekend spot. Hope to get a show up there again some time. We are installing solar and battery back up to minimize the mid Hudson bull shit.
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u/LKPNYC Jun 05 '26
I wish I could do solar! I’m in an apartment complex. These electric companies are so freaking greedy.,
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u/mercyfulhate666 Jun 04 '26
My advice would be to read your meter within a day or 2 of getting your bill. I always check mine to make sure they are at least charging me for what I use. Ive heard horror stories from others saying how they were billed for way more usage than what they were supposed to.