NYS Electric Companies: Let’s Jack Up Customer Rates By 13% To 22%

Americans keep saying that something has to give, that we can’t continue to live like this with the price of things through the roof and paychecks being stretched as thin as can be and yet, more garbage keeps getting heaped on. It feels like a slap in the face.

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Gas prices are expected to hit over $6.00 a gallon before the end of summer, baby formula is nearly impossible to find, staffing shortages have caused people to not be able to get in to see the medical professionals they need to see. And now, New York electric companies want to raise the rate of resident’s gas and electric delivery.

New York State Electric & Gas services 907,336 electricity customers and 270,204 natural gas customers in upstate New York including much of the Southern Tier and at the very tail end of May, the company announced that it would be looking to increase rates for customers by 13 percent to 22 percent.

NYSEG said it needs to increase delivery rates to customers in order to finance modernization and upgrades to its Upstate New York distribution network.

If the price hike is approved by state regulators, it would take effect on May 1, 2023 and it would come with a bill increase to average households of $10.00 to $18.00 per month which might not sound like a lot but for those already struggling to make ends meet, it will be crippling.

Although NYSEG wants to increase rates for its customers, its not a done deal. Legally, the Department of Public Service is required to review all proposed rate increases before approving or denying the request.

Governor Kathy Hochul has been quite outspoken on the subject, issuing a news release which stated that she is urging the Department of Public Service to “scrutinize every number and word of this proposal to protect New York families from unjustified and unfair rate increases.”

In November of 2020, a rate increase was approved for NYSEG which meant that customers would see a monthly increase in their bill of $2.42 the first, year, $1.81 in the second year, and $2.42 in the third year. The approved increase expires in April of 2023 and so the request for another rate increase beginning on May 1, 2023 falls right in line with what’s already been going on.

Avangrid owns both NYSEG and RG&E (which serves the Rochester area) and has proposed a rate increase for each subsidiary.