Harckham, Slater seek local hearings on NYSEG rate hikes

State Sen. Pete Harckham and Assemblyman Matt Slater are asking the state Department of Public Service (DPS) to hold at least in-person public hearing in northern Westchester and/or Putnam counties regarding NYSEG’s proposed electricity and natural gas rate increases.

The DPS has held two virtual hearings on the rate hikes, but the closest in-person hearing to Harckham and Slater’s legislative districts was in Oneonta, almost 140 miles away. NYSEG serves about 90,000 customers in the two legislators’ districts, which includes northern Westchester and parts of Putnam counties.

In a letter to Rory Christian, chair and CEO of the DPS, Harckham and Slater note that NYSEG has proposed “huge” rate increases of 35 percent for electricity and 39.4 percent for natural gas.

“[The rate increases would] come at a time when many households across our districts are struggling under the weight of a persistent and unequal economic recovery,” the letter reads. “Families and individuals are still facing high costs for housing, food, healthcare, and other essentials. For many, any increase in utility rates represents not just an inconvenience, but a genuine hardship.”

Harckham and Slater point to a recent report by Renewable Heat Now that says that NYSEG profits rose by 185 percent in the last 10 years and last year the company recovered $387 million in profits.

“This raises serious questions about the justification for additional rate hikes, particularly when weighed against the financial strain on customers,” the two state representatives wrote. “Ratepayers should not be asked to bear a greater burden while investor-owned utilities report record earnings.”

Harckham and Slater wrote that an in-person hearing would ensure that affected members of the public, including those without reliable internet access or lack technological knowledge, would have a fair opportunity to voice their concerns directly to the Commission.

“It is a matter of transparency, accessibility, and equity.,” they wrote. “[We] urge the Commission to take these concerns seriously and to provide the public with an opportunity for meaningful, in-person engagement.”