Electricity Supplier Agrees to Deceptive Practices Settlement

One of five electricity suppliers accused of gouging Pennsylvania customers during the 2014 winter has reached a settlement with the Attorney General’s Office.

Kathleen Kane announced a proposed settlement with HIKO Energy, an electric generation supplier accused of deceptively marketing its variable electric rates to Pennsylvania consumers, many of whom filed complaints about spikes in their rates during the winter of 2014.

Under the settlement, HIKO has agreed to pay $1.6 million in refunds to eligible consumers enrolled in HIKO’s guaranteed 1 to 7 percent savings program and another $352,000 for all other customers on variable rate plans.

Those proposed figures are in addition to approximately $159,000 the company has already paid consumers. The proposed settlement also requires HIKO to make a contribution of $25,000 to the Electric Distribution Companies’ hardship funds.

The settlement is the result of a joint legal action filed against HIKO by the Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection and the Office of Consumer Advocate. It follows a proposed settlement announced in March with Energy Services Providers Inc., which does business as Pennsylvania Gas and Electric (PaG&E). That proposed settlement called for consumers to receive an additional $2.3 million in refunds.

Consumers of HIKO who were on variable rate plans in January, February or March of 2014 will be contacted directly by a third-party settlement administrator if they qualify for a refund. The refunds will be based on consumers’ usage, the price they were charged during that time period and their plan. Refunds already received will be a factor in any additional refunds.

HIKO has also agreed that it will not accept any new Pennsylvania customers through June 30, 2016. Additionally, should the company begin to offer variable rate contracts after that date, HIKO will be required, among other things, to disclose to consumers in plain language that prices may fluctuate monthly and that there is no limit to how high the price can go.

The settlement proposed with PaG&E is still pending. The other three actions filed against Blue Pilot Energy, LLC, IDT Energy, Inc., and Respond Power, LLC remain in litigation.

Consumers with questions about the HIKO settlement may contact the Bureau of Consumer Protection at (800) 441-2555.