“Families across our districts are reaching their financial breaking point”
A weekly COLUMN from NY State Senator Tom O’Mara
Over the past two weeks, I have been joined by legislative colleagues from across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions – and statewide — urging Governor Hochul and her administration to protect New York’s ratepayers from skyrocketing utility costs.
In one letter to the governor and the chair of the state Public Service Commission (PSC), we called on them to oppose the latest rate increase request from New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG). I was joined in this effort by regional State Senators George Borrello and Pam Helming, and Assemblymen Chris Friend, Jeff Gallahan, Phil Palmesano, and Joe Sempolinski.
“As a regulated monopoly, NYSEG benefits from a guaranteed customer base and is already operating at a profit,” we wrote. “There is no justification for forcing ratepayers, who have no ability to choose another provider, to bear even higher costs without commensurate improvements in service.”
It’s ridiculous that regional ratepayers are even facing this possible increase. It was just two years ago, in October 2023, that the PSC approved multi-year rate increases for NYSEG customers, with a typical residential customer getting hit with a cumulative 31% increase. NYSEG is now requesting another increase of approximately 23.7 percent for electric service, with some service classes higher. If approved, it would cost the average household approximately $67 more per month or over $800 per year.
It can’t go forward. Our offices have been inundated with constituent complaints over NYSEG’s skyrocketing utility bills over the past few years. My office alone has heard from over 500 constituents during the past several months.
“Families across our districts are reaching their financial breaking point,” we wrote. “Seniors on fixed incomes, small businesses, and working families have contacted our offices to express deep concern and understandable outrage over rising bills. Approving this hike, layered on top of the recovery fee, smart meter costs, and policy-driven increases, would worsen affordability and accelerate the out-migration of New Yorkers seeking lower costs of living elsewhere.”
Skyrocketing utility costs have been the number one constituent complaint that our offices have been fielding throughout this new year. And rightly so. Some of these billing increases have been outrageous and inexplicable. We have been working with NYSEG, as well as with state officials, to try to get answers and assistance. Unfortunately, we haven’t yet received the answers or solutions we need. Consequently, we strongly believe there is no justification at all to approve yet another NYSEG rate increase and it should be rejected by Governor Hochul.
Ratepayers can submit their opposition to NYSEG’s rate increase directly to the PSC by visiting the agency’s website at dps.ny.gov, scroll down the home page to “Public Input Opportunities,” click on the “post comments” link.
In a separate letter to Governor Hochul, I joined my Senate Republican colleagues on the Energy and Telecommunications Committee to urge the governor to reverse course on an all-electric building mandate set to take effect at the beginning of next year by giving individual counties the flexibility to opt out of what’s known as the “All Electric Building Act.”
Under the mandate that was signed into law by the governor in 2023, new residential and commercial buildings will be prohibited from using natural gas, propane, or oil systems. We have warned that this sweeping mandate will significantly raise construction costs, push housing further out of reach for working families, strain an already fragile electric grid, and strip away consumer choice.
“The lack of clarity and an alternative policy that allows all New York’s ratepayers, businesses, workers, and builders to know clearly what the rules are is causing uncertainty,” we wrote. “New Yorkers deserve, and indeed require, to know that they will have access to affordable and reliable energy to heat their homes, power their businesses, and live their lives. Workers need to know their careers are protected without being threatened by moving mandates and deadlines. And our state’s construction industry needs to know with absolute certainty that New York State is not just talking about this issue but providing concrete answers that provide realistic solutions and reasonable time frames.”
Counties must be given the authority to opt out of this onerous mandate.
One final note on New York’s energy future. The state Energy Board is currently conducting a public comment process on the newly released “Draft 2025 Energy Plan” that will determine the state’s future direction. A series of public hearings will continue through the end of September and the Board will accept written public comments on the plan until early October, before finalizing an updated state energy plan.
Find out more and review the full draft plan here: https://energyplan.ny.gov/Plans/Draft-2025-Energy-Plan. Additional information on the hearing process can be found at: https://energyplan.ny.gov/Get-Involved/Hearings. Written comments will be accepted through October 6 and you can find out more on that process here: https://energyplan.ny.gov/Get-Involved/Comment.
We have repeatedly warned that New York State’s go-it-alone climate agenda is going too far and too fast. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the Albany Democrat majority strategy for New York’s energy future is not affordable, feasible, or realistic under its current timelines.
It’s time for Governor Hochul and her administration to face these realities – beginning with the immediate concerns over NYSEG’s proposed rate increase and the fast-approaching implementation of the all-electric building mandate – and take action to protect ratepayers, taxpayers, and local economies.
