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    Hurricane Sandy victims are starting to receive their electric bills for the past month's cycle, and many are not pleased.

    Customers on Long Island, New York are reporting that their utility, Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) has charged them for full estimated rates, even though many lost power for weeks after the storm.

    The devastating storm caused millions of homes on the East Coast to lose power, and thousands of New Yorkers are still without power, even though the storm hit the area almost a month ago. Despite the outages, many LIPA customers are reporting that their bills are just as high, if not higher, than if no power outages ever occurred.

    It is common for utility companies to charge their customers based on estimated meter readings to cover the entire billing cycle. Normally, this estimation is beneficial for both the utility and the customer, but the unusual and disturbing circumstances are causing a huge uproar among many customers.

    Customers reported that their billing statements made no reference to refunds or deductions adding insult to injury to those who have been financially affected by the storm. When contacted by the New York Post, LIPA declined to comment.

    It is expected that the electricity bills will later be adjusted to take into account the low usage during the storm period. However, for many customers that have lost income over the past month, the adjustments won't come soon enough. Some residents are reporting that they simply cannot afford to pay the bill, while some others are reporting that they will refuse to pay the bill until the matter is taken care of.

    Consumers are likely to see electricity cost increases that stem from the storm's destruction of electricity infrastructure, but these increases are not likely to be put in place for another year and will be spread out to reduce the impact on customers.

    Long Island Power Authority is a non-profit municipal electric utility that provides electric service to over 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens.