Sawnee EMC
Reviews and Complaints

We own a business in Cumming and appalled to see what we pay for Sawnee EMC each month. In Aug 2012 we paid approx $1438 for 10, 280 kWh and this Aug 2013 we paid $1594 for 10240 kWh. So we are paying approximately 10.8% higher this Aug for using 40 kWh lesser. According to US Energy Information Administration, Average gasoline prices were down 7 cents per gallon during the first half of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012, but as of July 29 they were 15 cents above their year-ago level. However, 2013 average prices through July were 5 cents below the same period a year ago. In summary gas prices have FLUCTUATED less than 3% as compared to last year, but Sawnee EMC service has INCREASED by 11% .

It is unbelievable that we do not have any competition or alternatives to this MONOPOLY!

Sawnee EMC has treated my wife and I poorly as customers. We had service with them for over a year, and then we moved, and before they would connect the service they asked for an additional deposit of 150.00 dollars right before Christmas. We had to make a couple of payment arrangements over the past year, and this was the basis of them wanting a deposit. I asked them to split the deposit and they refused to do so. It appears to me that this company has been granted premium districts in the state of Georgia and they are sticking it to customers because they know there are no alternative companies in areas that are designated to their respective districts. I have been forced to use this company because I like the area that they were given by stupid state legislator. This leaves customers with not even 1 alternate choice for certain utilities. Why would the state allow a monopoly by area? why not let at least 2 providers in the same area to insure a healthy competitive market that gives the citizens of Georgia a choice? I tell you the folks in government only look after their own interest.

I totally agree, another thing they do is wait until you are just a few days late and run out and turn the power off so they can charge a $40.00 fee to turn off and another $40 fee to turn back on, they are victimizing customers right and left, and overcharges as well. Horrible company, wish I could get another provider

If you don't get anywhere speaking to Mr. T Bennett, then try his boss Mr. Ryan Satterfield. Then you can go up from there: Gary Mauldin-COO, Michael Goodroe-CEO, Board of Directors.

Good Luck, the only way to change the place is to vote in a new Board of Directors that actually care about something other than drawing additional income for sitting in on meetings. Once new, caring Directors are in place, it needs to result in an overhaul of all the executives there. If they are not A-holes, they are perverted or walking a fine line of sexual harassment charges.

Ask them why you have to pay in order for "key employees" to have smart phones, what is the purpose, did the blackberries not suffice? They already had nice cell phones, lap tops and company cars. All paid for by you. I wonder how much would have been returned to you in your capital credits if the unnecessary spending was cut. Maybe that is a project that the CFO needs to look into.

I was charged a $400.00 deposit 9months ago, when I relocated to their
territory. I was hoping it would be Georgia Power, but it seems they control one half of the subdivision and GP the other. I previously had
service with them beginning in 2001 til 2005. I was charged a deposit
of $150.00 and had to request my deposit back after 1yr. They were planning on adjusting the bill. I informed the CSR I wanted it back the
way I gave it.They are predators, I was never late, as a previous customer with them, but it does not matter. I had signed a lease before
I knew there was a $400.00 deposit, had I had known prior to that I would not have moved in. This company knows it's not regulated by
Georgia power regulators, which is why a emc cooperative is in place,
supposedly regulated by it's members you and I. How many of you voted to be gouged like this. Indeed the AJC or CBS investigative reporters need
a link to this board.

Okay, everyone should call the Atlanta Journal! I have had enough of sawnee ! They have charged me 150.00 deposit, 70.00 fee for turning my power back on, 15.00 service charge and another 3.50 charge to actually pay! What a RIP OFF COMPANY! They should be ashamed of their selves. I ask everyone that has EVER been done wrong by this company to STAND UP----CALL the AJC and let's show them what happens when you mess with normal hardworking Americans. I am even going to call the Mayors Office and Senators office. It is time that we should be able to choose what electrical provider we want and not be charged up the freakin hill for making a 2-3 day late payment. Word of advice for everybody-----Sawnee transfer to a supervisor named Mr. Bennett. He is a A-HOLE and will not help you. On top of that, he refuses to let customers speak to his boss. What he does not know is one day he is going to say that to a person with some kinda power and end up without a JOB!

i am being charged a 450 dollar deposit to get service. I told them i could not afford it and was willing to make payments. I also mentioned it's 32 degree's outside and i have an infant. They have refused me service and i am sitting in the dark with my children and no hope for power for the next two weeks when i get paid. They don't care apparently. I offered to make payments or switch to GA power or something... This is a monopoly and i am sure it's illegal to deny a person service outright. If my child falls ill i'll pay anything to sue them and get my pound of flesh !

I just called to set up my new service, they are requesting a deposit of $340.00, What!? . I have been with GA power for years, with no late payments and they want a 340.00 deposit just to set up the service, I find this umbelivable. How can they do that ?
I have no where else to go to get power. So what am I suppose to do if i cannot afford this . This is crazy

Horrible company! I hate this place with a passion! Firstly I’ve never had to pay a deposit anywhere but when I moved I had to obtain services with Sawnee EMC and not Georgia Power. My deposit was $300 and they will NOT credit your account until you lived in your apt. or home for more than 30 months! This place is a joke and the customer service reps are rude and racist individuals in my humble opinion. Try asking for budget billing, ha, even more hilarious because it was the same amount as my ridiculously high monthly bill associated with them. When I was with Georgia Power, I never had a monthly bill over $60 during my 4 years with them. With Sawnee EMC, I’ve never had a monthly bill less than $60 and I live alone! The rates are horrendous and I give anything if I could be switched back to Georgia Power! I hate this place!

Unfair fees, charges, disconnections, and rude to customers

I have had Sawnee EMC as my power company since 2001 when I moved to Alpharetta which is their monopolized territory where they can do whatever the hell they want without any interference of the authorities.
In those 15 years my street lights were out a few times and each time it took them 2-3 months to fix the problem.In those 15 years I always paid the bills on time but I missed two payments, both times because of not receiving the bill and I got charged $15 late fee each time . When I called their office both times the agents were rude and abrupt, having answers ready just not to credit the $15, saying they are not at fault, like they really own those fees and they are entitled to them. That is highway robbery to me. A company with a lousy service department should not expect the customers to be so perfect. especially they should not treat a customer who has always paid his bills on time so terribly. But they do not care. As far as I am concerned they should all go to hell!
THEY ARE THE WORST. I can not wait for the day that we have more than one power provider and the day that companies compete for the business.

This company is heartless! I have been with them close to 10 years. We fell behind this month and asked for an additional 4 day extension pass the 7 day extension they normally give. Keep in mind
they only give 3 extension a year and those can only go out 7 days! I had this problem once years ago and they did the same thing luckily then a family member helped out looks like we will loose our power this time. There greediness and rules make it a horrible electric company to have your service through. I talked to the supervisor `and she did not move an inch I practically begged. I really do not want to be with this company, all my other creditors worked with me except for this company. They say they are non profit but it does not help us the customer bit there rates are higher in some cases and they are simply not flexible with their rules. There is absolutely no human element with this company. Thanks Georgia State Legislator for allowing monopolies where companies can treat customers however they wish. They must of paid the right people.

I agree, Sawnee EMC claims to "care" about their customers but they will cut your service off, add a large deposit and they know that you have no choice but to pay the deposit because there is no other light company in their district. They cut off our lights when we're a month behind and they do not try to make arrangements. Either you pay or you have NO LIGHTS. They don't care about embarrasing you and they tack on an extremeley high deposit after being a customer for over a year. Please send me your emails. I plan on starting a petition against Suwanee EMC to the State of Georgia. you can send me one to jerrike43@gmail.com. Thanks

Sawnee EMC is the worst company I have ever dealt with. Their Customer Service folks are the worst in the Industry. They are rude, could care less and their Business practices make no sense! Example: I have been with Sawnee in my same house since 1998 (15 Years) my Billing cycle has always been due in between my pay checks and I would end up in the 2 months on a bill each time so you have to carefully monitor the disconnect dates. I called them numerous times over the years and they will not change a Billing Cycle unless you are completely current on your bill. At the time I could not afford to pay both months at once so I would pay the prior month but thereby never in their definition was my account ever current. Then they started some process where if you paid on the final due date on the bill you would occasionally get a $35 Charge they defined as Step 1 of Disconnection. We may have to turn this guy off so we better hit him with a $35 Charge. That charge is not consistent by any means which is funny also. I am very busy and not that I'm saying that as an excuse but I have found myself in the situation where I always know what day I had to pay Sawnee to avoid any of their additional Charges and keep the power on because they JUMP at the opportunity to shut you down first and foremost. They supposedly have a callout system and an email that goes out but that is complete BS because just last month I was disconnected because I did not make my payment of the prior month before date X and I cam home to find no power. I never got an email, I never got a call. They refuse to ever consider their processes are not perfect. I called in that evening to of course pay the bill plus the $125 reconnect fee and it was still 2 hours before anyone got their to turn my power back on. I have been through that scenario with them multiple times and hey that is me I'm not saying otherwise but I am saying that they have processes to remind folks of possible disconnect that are not consistent by any stretch of the means but that is never an issue for them. They want change the Bill Cycle until you are completely current. They completely love setting folks up for Failure and more Fee's.
Having been with them now for 15 years and they have never lost a dime on me and they have made a boat load with add on fee's off of me over the years. But they now decide after 180 months of service - slap a $300 dollar deposit to my current Bill?

Folks I have been their 15 years, paid you every frickin dime you have billed me and you have made a fortune on me with your Fee's could someone please EXPLAIN to me what a good a deposit is at this stage other than just another petty way to add insult to injury. There are no words.
End the Monopoly !

I am planning a petition to remove wpc wholesale power cost from all bills, email me swilbank@AOL.com we can fight this evil company with our federal rights, sawnee emc is no more than common theifs with a manopoly!

Sam wilbanks,
I am planning a petition for removal of wholesale power cost. Sawnee emc is stealing money from consumers. Please email me swilbank@AOL.com to sign this petition. As stated on the constitution, we the people... We can fight this company together!

Re: Electrical Meter Relocation for 3440 Sharon Dr. Cumming, Ga. 30041

Dear Mr. Goodroe

On November of 2011 I contacted Suwanee EMC to relocate my meter to a new meter box. After a few days, an engineer by the name of Mr. Serge Gagnon was assigned to contact me. After days of waiting and leaving messages on his phone, finally Mr. Gagnon appeared at the house.

After a long discussion between Mr. Gagnon, my electrician, the carpenter, and I, Mr. Gagnon came up with the idea to put a new pole in the middle of the yard and an underground cable connecting it to the meter box. After he quoted us a price of $250, we all agreed to go ahead with his plan. He then started marking the ground and putting flags for the new service cable. Based on the quote he gave us we went ahead with new wirings in the house.

Few weeks later, I made several attempts to get in touch with him, but with no success. He never answered the phone nor returned any of my phone calls. My last attempt to call him was last month, again without any answer. After this last attempt, I sent a message to customer service by e-mail and also contacted them by phone and issued a complaint against him. A few days later he stopped by again and marked the ground and put new flags and left without any attempt to speak with me about the service.

Last week I applied for a temporary power connection with Forsyth County Planning and Development. After this, Mr. Serge called me and left a curt message on my phone, in which he simply gave the price of the new connection of $1959.32. This price was four times higher than the original quote he gave us. I called him back right away to speak with him regarding the price, but again he did not respond or return my calls.

Mr. Gagnon has been dishonest, rude, and unprofessional in my entire experience with him. I feel that he changed the price of the service out of spite for me. An employee like Mr. Serge will seriously damage reputable companies like Suwanee EMC.

I have two witnesses who were present when he gave my original quote who can back up my claim and testify in court if necessary.

I am only asking for fairness and to be charged for the service with the original quote that I was given. I will consider taking legal action if this issue is not resolved in 10 days.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

I have the same problem with SAWNEE EMC, they are thief.
Just send a message to the CEO of the company.
Michael A. Goodroe
President and CEO
Sawnee EMC
Kristi Sheriff
Assistant to the President & CEO
email your correspondence to Mr. Goodroe to
kristi.sheriff@sawnee.com
and I will make sure that he receives it.
Sawnee EMC

543 Atlanta Hwy.

Cumming, GA 30040

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Sawnee is a bully and a rip off just because customers dont have a choise to move to another electric company.i recently got disconnected due to being out of town, got back and paid the $90 and all the other payments the same day to get my power back on. now on my next bill there is a $300 dollar connection charge..this is so not right.they are thieves..i am moving as soon as i could just so i would not have to give that company another cent.oh and their customer service is very rude.