Consumer Complaint Process | previous page

The Commission staff, which includes people with training in legal, financial, and engineering matters, will first attempt to resolve your dispute informally. Commission policy allows a brief time (usually a few days) in which the utility company may attempt to resolve the complaint with you informally. During this time the utility company may contact you to offer a settlement which you may choose to accept. If the utility company does not offer a settlement you like, or does not contact you, the process will continue.

If an informal resolution is not reached, the complaint will be scheduled for a hearing before the Public Utilities Commission. The Public Utilities Commissioners, who act as judges, have an established set of guidelines they must follow in resolving disputes. These guidelines include state laws which determine the extent of the Commission's involvement in your dispute. Some utilities have a set of tariffs on file with the Commission. The tariff spells out how the utility will provide various services and how much you will have to pay for those services. In addition, the Commission adopts rules which govern the manner in which utility service is provided.

The Commission, acting in the public interest, can only consider the facts of the case, and then base its decision on the guidelines that have been established in state law, approved tariffs and Commission rules.