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NYS Assembly Budget Establishes Utility Consumer Advocate

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The New York State Assembly budget calls for the creation of a state Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate, an idea that has not been picked up the Senate in previous budgets but is being pushed by non-profit group AARP.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, along with fellow Assembly Democrats Jeffrey Dinowitz, who chairs the Consumer Affairs Committee, and Westchester’s Amy Paulin, who chairs the Energy Committee, announced Friday that the proposed Assembly budget for the fiscal year that begins in April includes funding for the creation of an Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate. The announcement is being applauded by Erik Kriss, spokesman for AARP, which advocates for consumers over 50.

“New York is one of only 10 states that does not have an independent utility consumer advocate to sit at the table with the professional resources and knowledge to really go toe to toe with the utility company and find out if what they’re proposing has enough merit and is beneficial to the consumer,” says Kriss. “So this is the problem not only with the Central Hudson rate-hike proposal that’s on the table right now, but also the PSEG rate-hike proposal that’s on the table in Long Island, and any rate-hike proposal that comes up. There’s just not a voice for consumers at the table, and there should be.”

The Senate budget does not include funding for such an office, but a Senate version of the bill to create the office gained a second Republican co-sponsor Friday – Hudson Valley freshman Senator Sue Serino. In a statement, Serino says that as chair of the Senate’s Aging Committee, it’s her job to be a voice for seniors. She says, quote, “I fully understand the need to have an independent party advocating on behalf of New York's consumers, which is why I’ve signed onto a bill that would create a State Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate to do just that.” She notes that her office has been inundated with calls from local seniors asking for this to happen.

Central Hudson Gas & Electric Spokesman John Maserjian speaks to the potential of an Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate.

“We really already have a very, very robust process. However, the addition of a consumer advocate would just be another part of this process,” Maserjian says. “We would work with the consumer advocate just like we would any other party.”

Since filing last summer for a new, one-year rate plan, Poughkeepsie-based Central Hudson, the state Public Service Commission, and others developed a joint proposal in February for a three-year rate increase that, if approved, would become effective in July. Again, Maserjian.

“And the three-year rate plan would fund some critical investments in our electric and natural gas systems,” says Maserjian. “The proposal would call for an increase in electric bills by about 1 percent in the first year; 4.7 percent in the second year; and 4.5 percent in the third year.  And for natural gas, no increase in the first year; 4.2 percent in the second year; and 4.2 percent in the third year. Those are all for residential customers.”

He says the rate increase could help fund collaborative initiatives such as a solar farm and microgrid program, as part of the PSC’s Reforming the Energy Vision initiative.  

As for whether budget negotiations advance the creation of the Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate, AARP’s Kriss holds hope.

“We’re very hopeful that this year will be different with the Senate. There’s a new energy committee chair in the Senate -- Senator Griffo of Utica. There are seven new members in the 33-member I believe it is Senate Republican Majority,” says Kriss. “And many of those members comes from two areas of the state where there are major rate hikes on the table right now, those being Long Island and, of course, the Hudson Valley with Central Hudson.”

In the Senate, the bill to create the Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate is sponsored by Diane Savino of the Independent Democratic Conference. It is co-sponsored by her IDC colleagues, including David Carlucci, as well as other Democrats and Long Island Republican Jack Martins, now joined by Serino. Carlucci is the sole Hudson Valley lawmaker on the Senate Committee on Energy and Telecommunications, chaired by Utica Republican Joseph Griffo.

Under the Assembly budget, the new office would be led by a gubernatorial appointee, subject to the Senate’s approval, who would serve a six-year term. It would represent utility consumers before all state and federal regulatory proceedings involving utility companies. The Assembly budget allots $500,000 to establish the office as well as $1 million in funding for community groups to act as interveners in such proceedings.

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