Allegheny Power Strikes Again! First, they overcharged us thousands of kilowatt hours that was only found because we found it. Gee, they 'estimate' our usage many times higher than it is, consistently. I wonder why that is? They basically said 'Oops'! That translated into a $350 reduction of our electric bill. (We KNEW they were wrong - we are frugal! Lights off, utilities unplugged when not in use, freezing our tushies off all winter NOT turning on the electric heat, hovering in front of a wood stove to stay warm!) Here's the kicker. One week after we called them on their over-estimation, we get a letter the basically states: Our research has indicated you are under-secured. Therefore, you must pay an additional $351 security deposit (think the amount is coincidental? Me thinks not...) due with your next bill. If you do not pay this deposit in full with your next bill, your electric service may be terminated. We have had this account for two years, paid a security deposit when we started it (which they still have), and we're managing to meet our obligations in spite of a rotten economy. So why do they want more at this time? You know what their excuse for this additional security deposit is (besides the fact that the government has lifted the regulations on the industry so the pirates are free to rape and pillage at will?) They are doing it to offset losses from foreclosures where people are walking away from their final bills. Oh, THAT makes sense, put it on the backs of us who are barely surviving, push MORE people to the brink of foreclosure. How about your executives take a modest cut in pay instead? I REALLY, REALLY HATE CORPORATE GREED! Especially in these times when we should all be looking for solutions together, not having to deal with Corporations grabbing all the loot they can while running to their off-shore hideaways in their corporate jets. So, if you have your electricity through Allegheny Power, let them know you dislike their unfair practices. And look into other options for electricity providers. If you don't - stay as far away from this company as you possibly can. All I can say to Allegheny Power is this - BAD FORM! Now, as to what I can DO about it - that is another story altogether. Filing complaints on websites such as this is merely the beginning of my perfectly legal and multi-armed attack against their corporate greed. I have also filed complaints with the Pennsylvania Utilities Commission, the BBB, and the President's Commission on Energy, to name a few.

I just got my electric bill which was $519.80 my bill has been around $53.00 a month, the last estimate was done in November 2010, and has not had an actual reading since then until now on March 21. SO I have to make up the difference for these payments because no one came out to read my meter for four months, I do not think this is right. I will pay the bill a little at a time, I cant pay all this at one time, but I want a reading every month, or every other month. This does not seem a fair way to do business. I know this probably wont go anywhere but I needed to express my concern for the lack of work being done on your part, and then I am the one who has to pay for it. Thank you for your time.

We have Allegheny Power both for our business and our home and we have nothing but problems with their service in both places especially our business. We are constantly getting charged for deposits and service that we have already paid for and today was the last straw, we showed up to our business and all was dark, Allegheny Power shut our power off without so much as a warning and we are more then mad about it, if this would've been the first time we might have thought it was a mistake but this is the 6th time this has happened, this is how we make a living and without power we fall way behind and to be honest it's embarrassing when customers show up and we have to explain why we have no power.
We received a note on our door 2 weeks ago that stated we were past due $213.00 and it needed to be paid by 11/4 so we paid the amount immediately, upon paying this bill I called All. Power and they told me that our account was current and nothing else was owed but now 2 weeks later our power is shut off and we now owe them another $211.00, where did this balance come from???? It didn't exist 2 weeks ago when they gave us a print out of our account or when we called to confirm our payment, plus when I called them with the $211.00 payment the automated system said we were past due $433.00... HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE??? I just talked to these people 2 weeks ago and our account was at a zero balance, they pulled this same crap with our house also and I do not understand how they just keep getting away with this, little do they realize the stress and tension they create in ones home & personal life doing this stuff, I'm just sick of it I really wish there was another power alternative in my area so I didn't have to deal with this company

I am James Davis and I ran for governor of West Virginia in 2008: http://jamesdavisforgovernor.davis-publishing.com . Most of you may not know that because the Secretary of State, Mrs. Ireland, made sure that I was not on the ballot or my name even close to the voting booths. She even refunded my money, telling me that there was an error in my registration and the date passed for a new registration and she would put me on the Write-In ballot.

Throughout my campaign, I tried telling the people that the utility companies and PSC was robbing us blind. The local news stations and the local newspapers always cut that part out of my talk. There is a way we can stop the utility companies from sucking us dry and turn their shady dealings back on them. Go on this web site and read about solar panels: http://www.greenraysolar.com . You can hook those up to the grid and the power you don't use will go into the grid and start turning your meter backwards and in a very short period of time, Allegheny will have to start paying you for the energy you are putting into the grid.

In the last three years President Bush was in office, the utility companies requested from PSC and got 157% increase in rates through the 'Free Marketing System'.

I am thinking about running for governor of West Virginia again in 2012. If you want someone in that office that will put a stop to these companies ripping people off, then e-mail me at: [email protected] and put in the subject line: James Davis For Governor in 2012 --and I will tell you what we will do to take back our money that has been stolen from us by big business and our government.

This past winter was one of historical severity in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia as it was in much of the WV-MD-VA-DC area. Due to the lengthy period of below normal cold and the extreme snowfalls (over 90 inches) I and many other customers experienced much higher than normal electric bills. When I received a January 10 bill nearly twice the cost of my bill from the previous January I immediately called Allegheny Power to work out a payment plan. Imagine my dismay when I, who had never missed a payment in the 5 years I have resided in WV, was told that Allegheny Power would not work with me on a payment plan until I received a disconnect notice! I was extremely uncomfortable with this, since I do pay my bills on time, but they would give me no other option and advised me not to make any payments until I received the disconnect notice. . When I received the disconnect notice (dated 2/10) I again immediately called Allegheny Power. I was advised about the payment plans but was not comfortable with this option since it continued to leave me in significant arrearage. I instead worked with the customer service representive to immediately send in a payment of $150.00 (mailed 2/10/10) and a subsequent payment of $150.00 (mailed 2/17/10) to completely pay an arrearage of $294.72. Imagine my surprise when I received a second disconnect notice on March 16! I then contacted Allegheny Power again to set up a payment plan and was told that I could not do so since I had sent in two payments. They advised me I would again need to receive a disconnect notice. I received the next disconnect notice on 4/13/10. By this time I had made payments of $518.77 towards total bills of $802.89 for the months of February and March. Compare this to bills of $460.51 for February and March of 2009! At this time I agreed to accept a payment plan which was established as three monthly payments of $91.00 each plus my current bill. My first payment was established at $147.00 due on May 3, 2010. I mailed $150.00 (notice this was above the established amount!) on April 19 (notice this was well before the due date!). Instead of giving me the respect I should have received as a conscientious consumer I instead received a notice (dated 5/10/10) that because I had received three termination notices I now had to pay a $121.00 deposit despite the fact that I had never previously missed a payment! I immediately disputed this with the WV Public Utilities Commission by phone but Allegheny Power refused to work with them. When I sent in my next payment plan payment of $136.53 ($91.00 payment plan and $45.53 in current charges) Allegheny Power transferred $61.00 of the payment to the deposit and sent me notice that my bill is now $61.00 in arrears!!! This company is taking advantage of consumers who have already had to pay much higher than anticipated electric costs due to a bad winter which was beyond their control and is now harassing them with unwarranted security deposits to pad their own finances. This puts me, and I am sure many other consumers, in a situation where we can never get caught up, are seeing our credit ratings suffer, and are being harassedIf I was a deadbeat who simply failed to make my payments I could understand it but I have consistently gone out of my way to work with Allegheny Power and have consistently sent in payments beyond what they have requested. I have repeatedly attempted to contact Allegheny Power and have either been placed on hold for between 10-20 minutes at a time (due to extremely high call volumes at 7:00 am--wonder why???) or talking with extremely rude customer service representatives who provide no alternatives and who refuse to connect you with supervisors. Instead they take information and promise a supervisor will call back which to date they have never done. I have seen other postings on this website regarding the same situation. Many of those expressed frustration over not knowing what to do. You can contact your state PUC and file a formal complaint, which I will be doing. I also encourage you to write your senator and congressman, write your local newspaper, and contact the consumer advocate at your local tv newstations, all steps I am taking. Who knows if it will work, but this kind of consumer scam for a life essential resource needs to stop!