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UPDATE: The Monroe County Legislature voted Tuesday night against funding the study. 16 legislators voted against the measure, while 13 voted to approve it.
Original story:
Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) — The possibility of replacing Rochester Gas & Electric with a publicly owned utility will be front and center for Monroe County lawmakers Tuesday night.
Amid concerns about billing errors and customer service at RG&E, local grassroots organization Metro Justice has been campaigning for change.
The group could edge closer to its goal Tuesday, as the Monroe County Legislature votes to possibly approve $1 million in funding for an independent investigation into replacing RG&E with a community-owned utility that Metro Justice claims would be more affordable.
The City of Rochester already pledged $500,000 to fund the study.
“It is a small price to pay for the potential to have a future where we are not beholden to a multinational for-profit company that has done nothing but gouge us and lie to us for decades,” said Mohini Sharma, organizing director for Metro Justice.
Before Tuesday’s vote, customer service representatives from RG&E set up shop at the Monroe County Office Building to assist customers.
RG&E communications manager Alexis Arnold said the company has made significant progress following customer complaints about billing.
“We’ve had more than 40 community connection and customer service events across Monroe County where, again, we are meeting the needs of our customers,” Arnold explained. “We have taken those steps because we heard them, quite frankly.”
According to Arnold, RG&E has hired more than 140 customer service representatives and 40 billing specialists to address the issue.
Yet, supporters for the public utility study say the changes are still not enough.
“Why would anyone be against an independent comprehensive expert study that genuinely evaluates whether a public utility or RG&E can serve Monroe County residents better and then allow the residents to make a choice?” said Sharma.