Guest Viewpoint: Utilities and state policies are draining ratepayers

Yesterday (Feb. 12), Governor Hochul requested that state regulators reject a proposed rate increase by Con Edison. The utility giant is looking to increase its electric bills by an average of 11.4 percent and gas bills by 13.3 percent starting on Jan. 1, 2026. She also requested that NYPA suspend a proposed electric rate hike for customers who receive low-cost hydropower from the St. Lawrence-FDR and Niagara power projects. This NYPA plan would increase rates from $12.88 per megawatt hour to an appalling $33.05 per megawatt hour. Meanwhile, the Public Service Commission is poised to approve National Grid's rate increases that would see monthly hikes of 15 percent for electric customers and 20 percent for gas users. My office and I have heard from ratepayers across the 45th Senate District about these rate hikes. Many are outraged. Just as many are anxious, and rightly so. It's been a particularly frigid winter and residents have had to rely on these utilities more than they have had to in recent years. This is increased usage and costs are compounded by the fact that we're living through a period of high inflation and increased costs on basically every household item. A double-digit percent increase in gas and electric utilities – at a time when even the governor publicly admits that our state has an affordability crisis - would be financially disastrous for millions of New Yorkers and particularly devastating for seniors and families on fixed incomes. Recent data from the state Department of Public Service shows more than 1.3 million households in New York are 60 days or more behind on their energy bills, with past due bills totaling $1.8 billion statewide. The department data also shows that more than 462,000 households received final termination notices in December. Rejecting all the current rate increase proposals is a necessary, but short term solution. An investigation into utility companies and these rate increases, as the governor called for, is a start but ultimately fails to address the root causes of the high costs of power generation and the fact that it's poised to skyrocket further over the next few years. Con Edison and National Grid referenced the cost of the CLCPA, the state's green agenda and mandates, as partial justification for these increases. The CLCPA'S 2030 deadline for implementation is rapidly approaching. From the electric bus mandate for school districts to electric vehicle mandates for car dealerships, the ban on new gas hookups and the need for the rapid construction of new, renewable energy sources, utility companies are scrambling to implement an entirely new grid and energy infrastructure. By the time its completed, a full conversion of our energy grid is estimated to cost New Yorkers a staggering $300 billion. In a recent joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Environmental Conservation and Energy, I asked NYSERDA President Doreen Harris about the CLCPA's estimated $300 billion price tag and the impact this will have on ratepayers. She admitted that these exorbitant costs will be passed down to consumers and referred to it as "incremental costs." There is nothing "incremental" about a double-digit rate increase for essential utilities, with the promise of continued further increases in the immediate future. The current proposals from Con Edison, National Grid and NYPA must be rejected by the PSC. It's essential in providing immediate, short-term relief to ratepayers at this crucial moment. But we must go further than that to provide long-term stability to our energy market. I sponsor legislation that would provide a full cost-benefit analysis of the CLCPA and would freeze its mandates while that occurs. Governor Hochul and Democrat leaders need to see that when it comes to the CLCPA and its mandates, it's too much in terms of price, too soon in terms of its deadlines and likely too unrealistic in terms of its goals. The time to act on that is now. Failure to immediately rein in the CLCPA and its sticker price will only leave millions more of our ratepayers out in the cold. -A Legislative Column by Sen. Dan Stec (R,C-Queensbury)

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Guest Viewpoint: Utilities and state policies are draining ratepayers

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