PLATTSBURGH -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer will meet with the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission about a problem he says has cost state communities millions.

"We must get to the bottom of this greedy scheme," Schumer said in a statement.

Between January and July of this year, energy-market traders were using deceptive trading practices, the senator said, which slammed consumers with millions of dollars in unnecessary, additional fees and put the state at risk for blackouts.

"New Yorkers may have been cheated out of hundreds of millions of dollars because of a rogue energy-trading scheme, and there are a mess of questions left unanswered."

The City of Plattsburgh and the villages of Rouses Point and Lake Placid were each hit with significant charges because of the problem.

Plattsburgh Mayor Donald Kasprzak called for a federal investigation earlier this summer, which prompted Schumer to get involved.

Schumer will meet with FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher next Wednesday to press for a more thorough and public investigation of the situation.

"There are still too many questions that need immediate answers: How much did these trades cost New Yorkers? When did FERC first know about this? And are there other loopholes that could be exploited?" Schumer said.

"In our meeting, I will urge Mr. Kelliher to conduct a thorough and public investigation into these matters so that we can get to the bottom of what happened and swiftly nip any future problems in the bud."

Kasprzak was pleased to hear that Schumer would be meeting with Kelliher.

"My hopes are, and I would insist, that municipalities will be made whole," the mayor said.

"It is unfair to Plattsburgh ratepayers to be continually taken advantage of by these questionable practices and self-serving corporations."

jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com