BATON ROUGE - Wednesday, DEMCO sent a message to customers blaming high bills on their wholesale power supplier CLECO, who it alleges is overcharging the distribution company. 

DEMCO says it has started a dispute with CLECO, and if not rectified, could turn into filing a lawsuit against the company. 

In their message, DEMCO accused of CLECO overcharging the company as much as $30 million from 2019-2021. 

In a response, CLECO said the contract between the two companies fluctuates depending on the current market prices. CLECO said neither of the companies profit off of rising natural gas costs, the fuel costs go directly to customers.

If DEMCO wins the dispute, it says the money will be reimbursed to customers. 

The 10-year contract between the two companies is set to expire in 2024.