By GREGORY ZELLER //
With utility rates rising across the state, Gov. Kathy Hochul is squaring off with her own Public Service Commission.
Just months after hitting homeowners across Long Island with a sizeable rate hike, gas and electric utility National Grid is raising costs in Upstate New York – with the blessing of the commissioners of the New York Department of Public Service, who voted unanimously Thursday to approve annual price hikes that, by 2027, will amount to about $600 per year for many northern homeowners.
That’s less than the utility asked for, and less than the average $720 increase building up through 2026 for Long Island and New York City ratepayers.
Kathy Hochul: Fighting words.
But it’s still too much, according to the governor, who lambasted the six-member PSC Board of Commissioners – half of whom she appointed – in a scathing rebuke issued minutes after they and PSC Chairman and CEO Rory Christian voted to approve National Grid’s latest rate request.
“While I appreciate that the New York Public Service Commission worked to significantly lower the outrageously high initial rate proposals, it’s still not enough,” Hochul said in a statement. “I have been crystal clear that utilities must make ratepayer affordability the priority.”
That’s quite a scolding, considering Hochul appointed PSC Commissioners Uchenna Bright, Denise Sheehan and Radina Valova to their posts, all last year.
She also designated then-Commissioner Christian as PSC chairman and chief executive in late 2021, shortly after taking over from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo – who earlier in 2021 appointed Christian and the other three current commissioners: James Alesi, John Maggiore and David Valesky.
In December, National Grid – a British multinational gas and electricity giant doing business domestically as National Grid USA Service Co. – said the $500 million in additional revenues it would raise from Long Island customers through the end of 2026 was needed for new infrastructure to transmit renewable energy.
The extra income would also fund the replacement of aging gas lines, improve customer service and provide financial assistance for low- and moderate-income customers, according to the utility.
Rory Christian: Interesting take.
The new rates affecting customers in Albany, Saratoga and dozens of other upstate counties are scheduled to take effect in September and will increase the average monthly gas and electric bill by about $22 to start, according to the PSC.
On Thursday, the PSC framed the upstate price hike as a win for consumers, stating on its website that commissioners had “dramatically reduced National Grid’s rate request.”
The commission also stressed that the rate-hiking “joint proposal” was submitted by a collaboration of 15 different entities, including National Grid, PSC staffers, the U.S. Department of Defense, the New York Solar Energy Industries Association and various labor unions, business associations and grassroots environmental groups across New York State.
Christian applauded a “forward-looking plan that benefits customers and includes provisions that further important state and [PSC] objectives, while keeping customer affordability first and foremost in mind” – and insisted that “the three-year rate plan is in the public interest.”
The governor, however, remains unconvinced.
“Since taking office, my administration has prioritized energy affordability, particularly for our most vulnerable, and we need the utilities to take it seriously as well,” Hochul said. “That means at a time when worried New Yorkers are being forced to tighten their budgets, all utilities must follow suit.
“This is no time for bonuses and big raises for executives,” she added. “Especially if they are going to be looking to raise rates on their customers.”
