Complaints

This profile includes complaints for HILCO Electric Cooperative, Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  HILCO Electric Cooperative, Inc.

  115 E Main St Itasca, TX 76055-2118

• 

  HILCO Electric Cooperative, Inc.

  PO Box 127 Itasca, TX 76055-0127

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/14/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I pay Hilco for my electricity. There was an issue with a snap power pole that needed to be replaced. When that happened there was an mistake that cause a huge power surge that caused damage to my house. Speaking with ***** at Hilco yesterday, he wants me to come out of pocket thousands of dollars and wait for Hilco to figure the rest out. There are several houses in the neighborhood affected by this and are very upset. We should NOT have to pay out of our pocket for these issues. Hilco needs to pay for these damages directly for everyone. We do not have the thousands of dollars to fix this. My biggest concern for is the wiring in the walls that I cannot see. That alone will cost to resolve. All of this needs to be resolved quickly. As I type this up I have no heat and several others in the neighborhood.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/14/2025

  We understand the frustration, but the damage at this location and in this neighborhood was not caused by HILCO Electric Cooperative nor any of its subcontractors. The damage was caused by a subcontractor working for another electric delivery company. On behalf of the other electric delivery company, the subcontractor was changing out a power pole belonging to that other electric delivery company. The power line supported by that pole crosses over the top of HILCO's power line. In the process of changing out the pole, the energized line fell onto our line. This was not caused by HILCO nor any of its subcontractors. HILCO is also a victim of this error. We suffered damage to our power line, equipment, and meters. We have shared this information with our members and have been advising them to contact their insurance companies with this information to get the process started to repair the damage they have experienced. HILCO quickly repaired/replaced all of the necessary equipment to have power restored to our members soon after the incident. We will be filing a claim of our own against the responsible parties to recoup the cost of repairing the damage.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/14/2025

  Complaint: 22808387
  
  I am rejecting this response because: You have have over looked this replacement. You are asking me to go to someone they nothing about me. You should handle my claims then go after who is responsible. I pay HILCO to have good service and look for items like this. You have a lot of angry customers that will reply the same. We dont care about ****, I dont pay PIKE I pay HILCO.
  
  Regards,
  
  **** *******..

  Business Response

  Date: 01/14/2025

  We understand that these situations are difficult to deal with. As with extreme weather events such as lightning strikes, tornados, hail, damaging winds, etc., unexpected situations such as this can cause damage, disruption, and frustration. This situation was certainly not something we expected or could control. Along with the HILCO members effected, HILCO also had to make arrangements to repair priority items caused by this other entity's actions until insurance and/or other financial remedies are available to make us whole. HILCO's responsibility, which was met, was to restore service to our members as quickly as possible following the incident. We hope you can reach a quick and fair resolution with the responsible parties.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/03/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Yesterday the power went out 4 different times in our neighborhood. No one reached out while we were without power in 107 degree temperatures. Unacceptable. I was told this morning that something was broken and fixed, but no one could answer what it was. Now today, the power goes out again while we're dealing with high temperatures. This company needs to be investigated. And the reps are clueless and rude as well. If you don't like working in customer service..then dont!

  Business Response

  Date: 08/04/2023

  We apologize if you didn't receive the best customer service. Many times, the ************** Representatives are not aware of the exact reason for outages immediately after they occur. It takes time for field personnel to get to the locations, investigate the source of the outages, and communicate that with office personnel. Unfortunately, unless we plan the outage in advance for line repair or improvement, outages can't be predicted, and members can't be alerted. In a perfect world they wouldn't happen. But when outages happen, we work diligently to discover the source and make the necessary repairs. Field personnel make every effort to communicate the outage information to office personnel in order to be able to provide our members with up-to-date information. For extended outages, we post updates on social media.

  We know that there were outages in your area during those times. In extreme weather, including the extreme heat we have been experiencing over the past several weeks, there will be issues with thousands of miles of poles, wires, and equipment that serves electricity to our members. Due to various reasons, these outages cannot be avoided. Regarding the brief outages that occurred on August 2nd and 3rd, they were identified and quickly resolved. The outages on August 2nd were brief interruptions that occurred at 12:57 pm and 12:58 pm. Power was restored by 1:08 pm. The outage on August 3rd was also a brief interruption that occurred at 1:42 pm. Power was restored by 1:47 pm. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/13/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have a bill right here in front of me telling me my bill issue on 10/13/22 but my power has been shutoff .they said because of a past bal.that was due .but the bill has has it added on to it .due on 10/13 /22 .I called them and they said and I quote.they don't know what to tell me

  Business Response

  Date: 10/14/2022

  HILCO's rules per it's tariff indicate that accounts that have balances that are not paid in full by the disconnect date listed on the monthly bills are subject to disconnection. This includes balances that remain after partial payments are made. These rules apply to all HILCO members. There are instances under certain criteria in which we will allow deferred payments to members who have issues paying the total delinquent amount if the member contacts us prior to disconnection. However, if the delinquent amount remains unpaid by the stated disconnection date and there are no arrangements made to defer payment of the balance, the service will be disconnected. HILCO will not discuss specific details regarding members accounts, however, it is my understanding that ****************** did not meet the rules per the tariff to avoid disconnection of service. We will be happy to discuss this in more detail with ******************. He may contact any ************** Representative at **************.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/06/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I called in to hilco because my service was disconnected due to the hilco payment system not allowing payments the company did not give notice the payment system was down nor did they give notice other than an alleged ******** post that the payment system was back taking payments so when my service was disconnected and I called the office the person who answered the phone was beyond rude and hung up in my face stating I will have to pay the stupid ********************** fee because when I called in to pay their payment system was down I drove to the midlothan office spoke to the manager who claimed to take the fees off of my bill which I highly doubt because since I have left the midlothian office my monthly light bill is higher than a car note I live alone with one child when I had 4 children here my light bill was never this high the no customer service having agent did sometommy account that has doubled my light bill and it is utterly ridiculous this is the ONLY light company the house I live on can have and I hate this over paid bad customer service having racist ignorant employees having company with a different kind of passion I would like an explanation to my light bill tripling die to your agent being rude and your payment sustem being down this is highway robbery

  Business Response

  Date: 09/07/2022

  We apologize if you feel that our member service representative was rude. We expect all of our employees to assist members as efficiently and professionally as possible. However, we do not expect our employees to be subjected to outbursts and insults. These employees are just doing their job. We are more than happy to assist all of our members within our rules and policies, but we must apply these rules and policies to all of our members consistently. My investigation reveals that the time period you are referring to was in mid-June when our electronic payment system was down briefly. They system was down on June 13, 2022 and was operational by noon on June 14, 2022. However, at that time your bill was past due after June 2, 2022. After that date, it was considered late and subject to disconnection if not paid by June 13, 2022. Your service was not disconnected until June 15, 2022. So, additional time was allowed after the payment system disruption. Regarding the disconnect/reconnect fee, that fee is applied to all members who have been disconnected for non-payment. This is a tariff fee that is applied consistently. After speaking with our office manager, our collections department waived the fee as a one-time courtesy. 

  Regarding the recent increases in the price of electricity, we know that our consumers are experiencing higher electric bills recently. To provide some clarity, the increases they are experiencing are due to higher usage, the pass-through fuel cost that is part of their bill, or a combination of both. The fuel adder,called Power Cost Recovery Factor or PCRF, is directly related to the cost of the generation of power. HILCO is an electric distribution provider, not a power generator, so we must purchase the power to distribute to our members.This cost of power is passed through and is not revenue to HILCO. When fuel prices rise, it costs more to produce electricity and those costs are passed on from our wholesale power supplier. There have been dramatic increases in the cost of natural gas over the last year. Increases to the cost of natural gas directly affect the cost of the power we purchase to serve our consumers.There are multiple reasons for these increases including costs to improve and maintain natural gas infrastructure, higher domestic electricity demand, and higher international demand. HILCO must collect the necessary funds to pay these higher power bills. This is collected using PCRF. We know that these increased prices have placed a financial burden on many of our members. We understand that this is causing hardship to many. We have information regarding local utility bill assistance agencies on our website. Or they may call ************** to find out more about these agencies.

  Regarding the reason you cannot switch from HILCO, we understand your concerns and wish to give you an explanation of our history. We are an electric cooperative with whom you are a member. Many years ago, independently owned utilities that began providing electric service were not willing to take this service to all areas leaving rural areas without electricity. To meet this need, electric cooperatives were formed. These cooperatives, including HILCO,made the investment to build lines to provide much needed electricity to the people in those rural areas. The ***** electric market was deregulated with the passage of Senate Bill 7 in ****. This new legislation required competition within the retail electricity industry. However, Sections ****** and ****** of that bill do not apply to the rates, retail service area, facilities, or public retail customers of a municipally owned electric utility that has not adopted customer choice or an ********************************************* that has not adopted customer choice.As an *********************************************, HILCO does not participate in the deregulated market.

  Our goal is to serve all members as consistently and efficiently as possible, while ensuring the financial stability of the Cooperative. We hope that the cost of power will decrease as soon as possible. Thank you for being a HILCO member. We look forward to serving your electric service needs and are willing to answer any questions you have.