Some PSEG Long Island customers say the utility should focus less time on expensive mailers and more time on lowering rates.
MaryAnn Fox, of Ridge, called the six-page color and glossy marketing material "a waste of money." She lives on a fixed income at Leisure Glen, a senior citizen complex.
PSEG Long Island says it cost $314,000 to print and mail the flyers – amounting to about 34 cents per customer. The utility says the flyers provide valuable information on programs to save energy and lower utility bills.
Neighbors at Leisure Glen told News 12 they should scrap the mailer and just cut electric rates.
Utility expert Matthew Cordaro says PSEG Long Island would get better results if it put its message in the monthly bill.
"I think bill stuffers are very cheap and an excellent alternative," says Cordaro.
However, PSEG Long Island spokesman Jeff Weir says its marketing costs are average for the industry and benefit the customers.
"By doing these types of mailers and these multichannel marketing effects, we are seeing customers saving even more…up to $200 or more on average a year," he says.
Fox was invited to sit on a PSEG Long Island Consumer Panel.