Frustrated homebuilder encounters more problems with RG&E
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GREECE, N.Y. – We exposed another problem with RG&E this week and it seemed to get their attention. Two days after our story, RG&E contacted the home builder who complained he couldn’t get power or gas. But when chief investigative reporter Berkeley Brean returned to the contractor today, he found another problem that a lot of you have experienced.
On Monday, homebuilder Carlo Callea took me through his development in Greece. He’s had to slow some of the work because he couldn’t get RG&E to supply power and gas.
Carlo Callea: Like this home here, has the drywall staged, ready to go in, but it cannot be installed due to we have no heat, no electric.
After our story, RG&E contacted Callea to get him in touch with a subcontractor to schedule the work.
Brean: Prior to our stories they never responded to any of your emails.
We exposed another problem with RG&E this week and it seemed to get their attention. Two days after our story, RG&E contacted the home builder who complained he couldn't get power or gas. But when chief investigative reporter Berkeley Brean returned to the contractor today, he found another problem that a lot of you have experienced.
CC: Not with any detail.
Brean: And after the story?
CC: Yeah, came right through.
But problems exist. Including meter shut-offs by mistake and no one to answer phone calls.
Callea walked me up to his daughter in the front office. Yesterday he asked her to call RG&E to fix a meter problem. She was on hold for two hours when the call was picked up.
Samantha Callea: She said that’s not the number, I need to call to do that, even though we’ve been calling for years and doing it.
Samantha Callea was on hold for another two hours before someone else answered.
SC: She said she would have someone call me back and haven’t heard anything.
CC: It’s an everyday occurrence in this office. Everyday.
My colleague Jen Lewke and I are in contact with RG&E every week, sometimes every day. The utility is dealing with staffing shortages across the board. They have told us one reason why calls take long to answer is the problems they deal with are complicated and take a long time to solve.
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