It was the winter of their discontent.

January, February and March of 2014 saw a blizzard of complaint calls to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and the Office of Consumer Advocate.

Customers felt tricked by electric suppliers who convinced them variable rate contracts would lead to cheaper electric bills.

Esther Keeney of Dillsburg got that sales pitch over the phone from a representative of Pennsylvania Gas & Electric. She reluctantly agreed to switch.

Then came the energy spike, commonly referred to as the polar vortex, and Esther’s typical $20 monthly bill in her tiny one-bedroom apartment jumped to $275, a crushing blow for a retiree on a fixed income.

Esther and many others across the state spewed venom toward PaG&E. “I hate ’em,” Esther said. “I shouldn’t say that, but they took me.”

Pennsylvania Gas and Electric has now agreed to give back. The company, per a settlement agreement with the OAG and OCA, will give $2.3 million in refunds. That’s on top of $4.5 million the company previously refunded. Though it admits no wrongdoing, the company was accused of failing to properly disclose the dangers of variable rates. It will also pay $125,000 in fines and agrees to only offer fixed-rate products in Pennsylvania for 18 months.

“This is a significant refund that will be going back to customers and it is a relatively unique situation,” said Tanya McCloskey, the acting Consumer Advocate.

McCloskey says PaG&E customers will be notified if they’re eligible for a refund. It could take a few months, she explained, because the settlement agreement still must be approved by the Public Utility Commission, which is likely.

Esther, after our story last year, was refunded $167.

Doug Marcille, PaG&E president, came to Harrisburg last March to address lawmakers whose constituents were pointing fingers at his company. In terms of complaint volume, PaG&E was one of the worst offenders. I spoke with Marcille who insisted his company was a victim of the polar vortex and runaway prices on the wholesale markets.

“We did not price gouge,” Marcille said forcefully in March. “Price gouging is making a profit on an extreme set of circumstances. We actually lost money. We charged in some cases 30 and we paid 40.”

And now PaG&E has agreed to pay more.

Fortunately, the horrors of last winter were not repeated this year and McCloskey hopes most customers learned that it’s best to stick with fixed.

“The variable rate is not a product for most residential consumers. It’s not for the feint of heart.”

McCloskey did say there are four other electric suppliers being investigated and it’s possible more refunds over last winter’s bills could be coming to wronged customers.