New Haven landlord PMC Property Group has been ordered to repay its tenants for charging them individual for their energy use, a practice encouraged by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the Connecticut legislature.
PMC and its utility rebilling company Energy Management Systems billed 65 residential and one commercial tenants at 38 Crown St. in New Haven for the electricity used to operate the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems based on their estimated usage at the four-building complex. This practice is known as submetering.
In his comprehensive energy strategy proposed in October, Malloy called for submetering at multi-unit buildings, as it makes tenants responsible for their own energy usage and encourages conservation. The General Assembly approved the strategy last week, including allowing for submetering at multi-unit buildings.
However, the new law requires landlord to get approval from the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority before submetering begins, and PMC did not have permission when it started the practice in March 2012.
PURA has ordered PMC to stop submetering immediately and refund all charges collected to tenants by June 26.
