Joe Beichert couldn’t believe the electric bill his business, Timely Signs, received in December 2022, stating it owed Central Hudson nearly $13,000.

The reason? No one from the company had come out to read their meters.

“I thought it was a mistake," said Beichert, company vice president. "I thought it was a misunderstanding. Maybe it was all of the bills added together that may have slipped through.”

Thirteen-months later, he says he’s still looking for answers, much like thousands of others who have filed complaints with Rep. Pat Ryan’s office, citing erroneous and inflated bills from Central Hudson.

The utility company is proposing a rate hike that would take effect in June 2024.

For some customers, Ryan says, it could raise bills by as much as 19%.

In a statement, a Central Hudson spokesperson said the increase is needed for “updating and replacing aging infrastructure, storm hardening, enhancing responsiveness to severe weather events and complying with New York State’s clean energy policies.”

Beichert said he’s skeptical of the company's reasoning, given past bills.

“If we can't trust the numbers from the past and we still can't trust the numbers today, how can we trust that 16 to 19 percent?" he said. "That's a percentage. What are those numbers? What are the real numbers that we're going to be looking at?”

The New York State Public Service Commission still can approve, modify or deny the proposed hike. It said the plan is being reviewed.