ROCK HILL, NY — Electricity customers in the area had a chance to have their grievances heard at a May 18 pop-up at the Emerald Green Community Center. 

New York State Electricity and Gas (NYSEG) provides electricity to customers throughout Sullivan County. Together with sister company Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E), it provides electricity and gas throughout upstate New York. 

Since 2021, the company has faced reports of customers receiving inaccurate or late bills, as well as high volumes of customer calls that overwhelmed call centers. 

NYSEG is rolling out in-person pop-up events, bringing staff directly to the community for in-person tabling, to give customers another way of having their needs met, the company said.

“We’ve seen the success of these events in Rochester [with RG&E] and we’re looking to bring the same support to our NYSEG customers,” said Tom Garrity, NYSEG’s eastern regional manager of government and community relations. “This in-person event is designed to keep customers updated on our operations, programs and services and answer questions in a community-friendly setting.”

The company wants to put pop-ups in areas where a lot of customers are experiencing concerns, said Uthman Aziz, program director with NYSEG’s Liberty division. 

The pop-ups are held in partnership with municipalities and elected officials. Aziz said the company is working with Sen. Peter Oberacker’s office to get a pop-up in the Callicoon area, and worked with Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther’s office on the Rock Hill event. 

Gunther thanked NYSEG for holding the event, to keep customers updated and assist with billing issues. “I am glad to have been able to work with them on this event to have customer questions answered in a friendly community setting,” she said.