LIPA to refund couple's overpayments

The Long Island Power Authority Monday said it would give a full refund to an East Patchogue couple who were wrongly billed for 11 years as commercial customers.

Elizabeth and Robert Rizzo said they received a call from LIPA chief operating officer Michael Hervey last night, telling them the authority would refund them the full amount they overpaid as a result of the incorrect rate classification. LIPA had refunded only two years of incorrect billings, amounting to about $1,000. It's unclear how much more will be refunded.

"I am so ecstatic and thankful," Elizabeth Rizzo said. "I never in a million years expected this to happen."

She said she'd been besieged with phone calls offering support. Newsday reported Monday that the couple had paid sky-high electric bills for years, always suspicious that something was wrong, but never able to decipher their bills.

Calls to LIPA's customer service contractor, National Grid, missed the problem for years, the Rizzos said. Only last August did a customer service rep mention offhandedly that the couple's home was classified commercial. That classification led them to pay 8.6 percent sales tax, a delivery charge up to 2 cents higher and late fees.

"We are sorry that the Rizzos went through this," Hervey said in a statement, adding the couple will receive a refund "with interest, the majority of which is sales taxes."