PORTLAND, Maine (AP)   A lawsuit accuses Central Maine Power of deceiving customers by blaming excessively high bills on their usage rather than malfunctioning billing and metering systems.

The Portland Press Herald reports that CMP has denied claims in the lawsuit filed by three law firms Wednesday. The firms withdrew a class-action lawsuit aiming to recoup alleged overbilling of CMP customers last winter.

The new lawsuit also claims CMP overbilled customers. CMP faces dual investigations over complaints of overbilling, one by the Maine Public Utilities Commission and another by an independent auditor.

The lawsuit says 97,000 customers’ bills increased by 50 percent or more, and another 200,000 saw smaller increases up to 50 percent.

The newspaper previously reported a spokeswoman called the lawsuit a “gross misrepresentation” of its customer service workers.