Incorrect National Grid gas rate leads to bill spike for East Northport resident

When Chris Kranenberg heard from his 91-year-old mother this spring of a "substantial increase" in her National Grid gas bill, his antenna went up.

His mom is a widow living in an East Northport home that converted to gas heat a decade ago, with little reason for an outsized increase beyond the standard rate or gas-supply hike. So why now? 

The answer to his question highlights the importance of carefully reviewing utility bills and keeping careful records, experts say, at a time when utilities are putting more of the onus of overcharges and misclassified rates on customers. In the end, after Newsday began asking National Grid questions, the customer is getting some satisfaction — to the tune of $1,000 in past overpayments. 

It didn’t take Kranenberg long to determine that his mother was being billed at an incorrect rate — and, he said, the error was to National Grid’s advantage. In the midst of his research, he said, he was told there are potentially thousands of other customers just like his mother, who converted from a simple gas-appliance rate for a kitchen stove to a home-heating rate to heat the entire house, increasing her usage tenfold. But at the time of conversion, the utility did not fully change the rate code to reflect the new, lower rate and higher potential usage.

After reaching out to National Grid and confirming that his mom was still being billed at a higher gas appliance rate (code 120) rather than a space heating rate (code 140), Kranenberg said he received contradictory messages about her billing status.

While her bill listed her at rate code 120, the National Grid account system had her at the correct rate code 140, he said. At his request, a company representative corrected her billing rate to heating rate code 140 over the phone. That it was at least partly correct on National Grid's system suggests the company had been aware of her upgrade but didn't reflect it in her bills, Kranenberg said.

National Grid spokeswoman Wendy Frigeria, in emailed responses to Newsday questions, said customers are "required to notify National Grid if they have converted to gas heat or added new gas appliances so we can ensure their meter and rate are appropriate."

She declined to say whether, as a National Grid rep purportedly told Kranenberg, thousands of customers may be similarly misclassified.

Although the company originally told Newsday it doesn't proactively review bills to look for usage spikes that could indicate a misclassification, a spokeswoman later said it uses an "automated review" to inspect bills that may need adjustment.

State Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) said his office has been in contact with National Grid to make sure Kranenberg is made whole, and that he's pursuing legislation "that protects ratepayers who are overcharged."

"Our ratepayers should not be getting gouged in any way," said Mattera, a master plumber who knows National Grid must be notified when certain upgrades are made. He said he and his staff are working to resolve the matter and determine if others may be incorrectly classified. That said, Mattera said it's up to Kranenberg to prove that she contacted the company to alert them to the change. 

Kranenberg said his math showed that his mom had overpaid by $575 for just the first six months of 2025. He wondered about the 10 years she had been paying at the higher rate, easily into the multiple thousands of dollars, he estimated. Was there any way for her to get a refund?

Two National Grid reps told him  the company did not provide refunds but offered a $25 courtesy payment for the Kranenbergs' trouble.

"The rep was apologetic and sympathized with the situation but said that was all she could do," Kranenberg said.

The rep "stressed that National Grid is protected by ‘tariff laws’ such that they do not have to pay any retroactive refunds or credits because ‘it would amount to thousands of dollars,’" he said.

He accepted the $25 but didn’t stop there.

He was eventually referred to an escalated rep for National Grid who reiterated that there could be no refund and who told him that potentially thousands of customers were also being billed incorrectly — but that it was customers' responsibility to read their bills and make sure they were on the correct rate. Those who weren't could request a change. 

That rep told him that "National Grid does not refund or credit [for] overpayments due to incorrect rate codes because National Grid holds the customer responsible for informing National Grid about service changes that qualify for rate code changes," Kranenberg recalled.

Frigeria said, "Our billing policies follow the state-approved tariff, which sets forth the rules and requirements for service and rates."

Nevertheless, on Sept. 12, Kranenberg said a National Grid rep called him to offer a $1,000 settlement of the case, which his mother has accepted. The agreement required that he drop his complaint to the state Department of Public Service, and to refrain from speaking about the case or settlement.

Frigeria on Sept. 12 confirmed the company was "working with the customer toward an equitable solution." 

National Grid also acknowledged it does review customer usage, saying  it was such an "automated review" that led to the switch of Kranenberg's mother's rate in July, not her son's phone call. 

"Our automated review had already updated the rate before the customer reached out," Frigeria wrote. "Each year, we proactively review accounts to help identify customers whose rate may need to be adjusted, even if they haven’t contacted us."

Douglas DiCeglio, president of Utility Rate Analysis Consultants, a company that reviews customer bills for utility errors, said refunds typically hinge on whether customers or their plumber have paperwork proving the company was notified of the change. The paperwork would be needed regardless of whether National Grid knows or suspects through usage patterns that a customer is on the wrong rate, when winter usage spikes, for instance.

"The person’s claim relies heavily on any evidence they can provide that they told National Grid that they were installing a gas boiler," he wrote. "If the gas service before the install was not sufficient to supply the new boiler, which is likely, then National Grid would have had to upgrade the service and would have obviously been aware."

DiCeglio noted consumers, or their contractors, "are required to notify the utility about any work being done. Unfortunately, that rule is sometimes bypassed."

DeCiglio said he wasn’t surprised to hear a utility rep told Kranenberg that many other customers are in the same position as his mother.

"I suspect there are thousands, as many people converted to gas heat over the years," DeCiglio said. "However, a lot of them were solicited by National Grid, which expanded its piping to serve new customers. Those people might have a case because National Grid instigated the installation of a new gas boiler and might have even provided a rebate."

DPS spokesman James Denn confirmed it had received a complaint from Kranenberg and opened a case to review it. He also indicated the refund policy is clear. The Kranenberg complaint has since been withdrawn, and it's unclear if the DPS will continue with a probe on its own. "If customers have evidence that their contractor notified National Grid about their eligibility for a more advantageous rate, they are encouraged to submit that evidence to the Department as part of a complaint against National Grid," he wrote to Newsday. 

"Public Service Law and the Commission’s rules and regulation allow for customer refunds for up six years," Denn said in an email. 

DeCiglio has uncovered overcharges by National Grid before. In 2015, as Newsday reported, he found more than 3,600 of the company’s mostly commercial customers had been billed at an incorrect rate because of the way the company estimated and classified their usage. After an investigation by the DPS, upward of $3.3 million was returned to customers, an average of $916 each for up to six years of overcharges.

Denn said matters of utilities "failing to comply with the law or the Commission’s regulations may be referred to our Office of Investigations and Enforcement."

Laurie Wheelock, executive director of the Public Utility Law Project, which represents ratepayers in utility disputes, said for Kranenberg to get a refund, it’s crucial to establish that National Grid was aware of, and may have approved, the upgraded service.

Wheelock said she’s seen an uptick in cases in which low-income customers, for instance, have switched to all-electric heating, but a utility didn’t immediately note the switch, which impacted customers' eligibility for energy-assistance programs.

She said it appeared to be an "emerging issue and a great question about how often do these utilities reach out to their customers to say, hey, we’re seeing something going on" in usage or price spikes.

A bill introduced in the State Legislature this summer would require utilities to notify customers of increased usage beyond certain thresholds, she said.

She urged customers to look carefully at bills, read information about rate classifications and make sure it's correct, and to contact the utility, or the state DPS, if a problem isn’t fixed. Customers can also turn to lawyers and the courts, she said.