Central Hudson was initially seeking a one-year rate increase to start July 1 that would increase customers’ total monthly electric and gas bills by 5.3 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively. The new joint proposal made with staff at the Department of Public Service and other parties would increase customers’ total monthly bills by smaller amounts over the course of three years.
For year one, that comes out to a hike of 3.1 percent (or $5.43) for the average monthly electric bill, and 5.1 percent (or $7.73) for the average monthly gas bill. Hikes in years two and three would be higher.
Low-income customers, meanwhile, would see their rates decrease slightly for the first year.
“They’ll see a decrease of about 4 percent, or between $3.85 and $4 per month decrease on their bill," says Joe Jenkins, a spokesperson for Central Hudson. "We wanted to minimize the impact for the majority of our customers, but we wanted to make sure that we were making efforts to really protect the most vulnerable customers we have in our service area.”
Customers must be part of the base level Home Energy Assistance Program or have other benefits to qualify for the lower rate.
The settlement comes during yet another contentious rate case for Central Hudson, which drew public outcry after requesting a double-digit rate hike for 2024. The PSC ended up slashing that significantly, but many lawmakers wanted commissioners to reject it outright. That sentiment hasn’t gone away, and it’s not limited to Central Hudson: Con Edison and National Grid are also requesting higher rates right now, despite public opposition and concern over the rising cost of living. A recent survey found a majority of residents in four Hudson Valley counties are living paycheck-to-paycheck, with utility costs being among their top financial burdens.
So far, Central Hudson’s settlement is getting mixed reviews. State Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson, a Democrat from the 104th District, says the PSC should reject it.
“This is no bargain," he says. "Despite Central Hudson's pronouncements, this is no bargain for customers."
He’s not he only one: Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, a Democrat from the 103rd District, says she opposes the overall deal. Democratic State Senator Michelle Hinchey, from the 41st District, says, “Too many people are being crushed by the cost of living —even those who don’t qualify for assistance, which makes these kinds of rate increases completely unsustainable.”
The Public Utility Law Project, a consumer advocacy group, says it is staying neutral on the subject. Executive Director Laurie Wheelock says the overall increase will still place a burden on customers, but there are positives to the settlement, including short-term payment plans with waived late fees for some customers, protections against utility shutoffs during extreme cold and heat, Spanish-language bills, and increased enrollment in Central Hudson’s low-income discount program.
“Those who are in this monthly discount program are pretty much at even, like the bill increase will not impact them. So, we thought that was also really important," she notes. "Especially now, with certain federal programs potentially under attack down in Washington, anything we can do here in New York in particular to help low-income customers is extremely important.”
Wheelock notes, however, that this case continues what some see as a pattern of utilities requesting higher rate increases to settle with the PSC for what they really want. Jacobson notes this time around, the first-year increase laid out in the settlement is actually a lot closer to Central Hudson’s initial request than the result they got from the PSC last year. He also contends utilities overly-focus on capital projects in their rate hike proposals, because they stand to get a bigger return on investment from those than from everyday operations.
“I have a bill in the Assembly that would require the utility to list exactly what the project is, its life expectancy, and prove that it was the right way to go in this situation," he adds.
Jenkins says the rate increases are needed to improve Central Hudson’s infrastructure, ramp up cybersecurity efforts, and keep up with New York’s clean energy goals — all things that, he says, help customers in the long run.
“We believe it really takes a village to lower energy costs. We’ll do everything we can on our part to keep our costs in line," he says. "But it takes collaborative relationships with all the other parties, and we’re open to those discussions and working with our lawmakers to make that happen for our customers.”
The PSC isn’t expected to rule on the settlement until the fall. Central Hudson’s current delivery rates, which were set to expire July 1, will continue until a ruling is made.
