Con Ed Customers Hit With A Jolt After Seeing Post-Nor'easter Utility Bills

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Some Con Edison customers are complaining their bills following this month's string of nor'easters don't include discounts for the long days they were without power.

The neighborhoods in Westchester remain scarred after the storms. The power's back and the light's are on, but it's the utility bills arriving in the mail that are providing the biggest jolt.

"My first impression was shock, because it was a hundred dollars more than the previous month," customer Sara Charles said. She and her family went a whole week without power, so she says she was surprised to get a Con Ed bill that didn't reflect a discount for her ordeal.

"It's very confusing," she said. "I've already paid the bill through automatic debit."

Mike Clendenin from Con Ed says the impact from reductions customers might have expected may not show until their next bill, and adds the utility will give a delivery charge credit to every customer who lost power for at least three consecutive days.

But the credit itself may not show up on the bill until May. If you're on a "level billing plan," your bill will stay the same every month until it's recalculated at the end of the 12 month term.

In Charles's case, Con Ed told her this week her meter wasn't read because of the storms, so her bill was estimated instead of actual.

"Eventually they will send someone out here to do a reading and the next bill will not be hundreds and hundreds of dollars," she said.

Every Con Ed residential customer who lost power for at least three consecutive days should file for reimbursement for spoiled food and medicine. You'll get $225 with no receipts and no questions asked, and up to $515 if you have the proper documentation.

Con Ed says any customer who questions a bill should call and speak with a customer service representative.