Rochester Gas and Electric is addressing allegations that it shut off service to a record number of customers last year.

Community advocacy group Metro Justice rallied outside an RG&E event at city hall in Rochester on Wednesday. The group says state data shows the company shut off power to more than 13,000 establishments in 2024 — triple the number of service shut-offs in 2023.

Metro Justice says these shutoffs took place while the utility company was earning some of the highest profits the company has seen in recent years.

"Any increase in revenue the company gets is to build the resiliency of its system," said Christine Alexander, vice president of customer service in New York for RG&E and NYSEG. "We have an older system, aging infrastructure, whether it be pole replacements, transmission lines, all of that has to be paid for."

"Rochester is the third highest energy burden in the country and we cannot afford RG&E any longer," said Michi Wenderlich, campaign and policy coordinator for Metro Justice. "We need a public utility study to show us whether it would be cheaper and more reliable and more affordable to have a public utility."

Meanwhile, RG&E says if you're behind on payments, their staff can set up an affordable billing plan and even link customers to energy assistance programs like HEAP.