Yorktown Residents, Businesses Protest Rising Utility Rates
(February 11, 2022) – Elected officials and residents gathered today to condemn skyrocketing utility rates and demanded answers, transparency, and accountability.
“The fact is the State has led us into an energy crisis that is creating a financial emergency for families, seniors on fixed incomes and small businesses,” said Supervisor Matt Slater. “We are facing record inflation and for the State to even consider a rate hike, coming off of a three-year rate hike, during these times just proves how out of touch and insane New York State has become.”
Councilman Tom Diana said he spoke with the mayor of Buchannan this morning about the Indian Point Energy Center, the nuclear plant that state officials closed last year.
“This is one of the big signs of the consequences that these past elections have had,” said Diana. “You have a 200 percent increase in your electric bills, minimum.”
Utilities have argued that normal winter demand for power and fuel, combined with supply chain disruptions, have caused the price spikes in natural gas, which is used to create most of the electricity in New York.
“They’re passing on the cost of energy to our consumers. That’s always been the answer from the utility companies,” said state Assemblyman Kevin Byrne. “When they shut down Indian Point, they said they were going to replace the power with natural gas. The price of natural gas is a very big reason why the cost of energy has gotten so high.”
The Yorktown Town Board sent letters to the Public Service Commission requesting the Special Counsel for Ratepayer Protection on an investigation into the high bills consumers are receiving. The Town Board also sent a letter opposing ConEdison’s request for an 11.2% electric rate increase as well as an 18.2% increase. The Town Board is requesting the entity that regulates New York State’s utilities hold a public hearing at Yorktown Town Hall so ratepayers in Northern Westchester can have their voices heard.
Supervisor Slater’s remarks and letters from Yorktown officials opposing proposed rate increases are attached.
Following the press conference Governor Hochul urged ConEd to review its billing practices. In a letter from the Public Service Commission Chair Rory Christian recommended that ConEd:
Mitigate the recent high customer bills by providing the full values of its hedged commodity procurements to customers in the next billing cycle.
Reassess its approach of forecasting its hedge value in billing cycle updates to reduce the likelihood of dramatic and sudden price volatility.
Improve communication to electric and gas customers to better explain forecasted commodity price changes.
Contact: Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater, 914-962-5722 x201 or mslater@yorktownny.org
