Allegheny Power Is A RIP OFF!! Scams money for unused power Nationwide

We have had Allegheny now since our home was built in April 2005 and they have been horrible!! The power goes out randomly and constantly. The sun could be out with no wind and the power goes out. It's ridiculous. Any time the is going to be a storm, you can GUARANTEE, you're going to lose power for at least 2 days.

To top it off, in 2005, we went on the budget plan at $88/month. Our bill remained there for a few months then went to $99. Grew again to $118/month. In the meanwhile, our usage rates continued to decline yet out bill to raise.

In Dec 2006 our bill shot up to $125/month. When I called (after FINALLY getting ahold of more than an answering machine), they told me we used a lot in the winter. I let it go, paid extra each month to get the bill back down. It only dropped to $118 again before all at once, I got a bill for $136.

When I called to ask why my bill was up when my usage was down significantly, they told me they had a 27% rate increase. yay. Since that happened in summer 2008, my bill has continued to raise $8-$10/month it is now at $150!!! Still, my KWH usage is lower than before.

We conserve in everyway possible. We deal with cold home in winter, warm home in summer, bought energy saver lights and appliances, yet bill continues to skyrocket. Almost every month THEY OWE ME MONEY from where I have continued to overpay my bill and my monthly payments exceed my usage yet they deem it necessary to increase my bill and penalize me if I don't pay that much.

As it stands right now, they OWE ME $145.07 but they sent me a bill for $150 and if its not paid in full or paid late I have a late fee. They never give me extra for letting them have my extra money to collect interest on.

Times are tough and the economy sucks so if they continue to raise our bill, we will soon have no power in our home. Our entire home is ran off electricity so we are literally helpless w/o it. My husband and I have 3 young kids to care for and provide for and A.P is just another kick while we're down but no matter how much you plea with them, it does no good, your bill will continue to rise.

I truly wish we had an alternative to which power company we want to use.

Marcia
front royal, Virginia
U.S.A.