Electricity bills to go up next week

After a year of public comments, formal complaints, reports, motions, reviews, billing snafus and legal decisions the New York State Public Service Commission granted a 7.85% rate increase in electric delivery rates to Central Hudson for the period starting July 1, 2024, and ending June 30,2025.

The utility initially requested a 16.4% increase from the commission, which regulates utility companies.

Central Hudson calculates this will mean an average monthly increase to customers of $12.65 and does not reflect the cost of energy supply which varies monthly depending on fuel costs.

The “Rate” game is played nationally with all regulated utility companies, which ask for more money and agree to less while remaining profitable.

State Senator Michelle Hinchey (D-41) is sponsoring legislation to turn Central Hudson into a government owned utility. Commenting on the rate increase she said, “This is not the outcome we wanted, and it’s not what Hudson Valley residents deserve after years of suffering financial hardship and distress from Central Hudson’s corporate mismanagement.”

In a public statement Central Hudson maintains that the rate increase will allow the utility to upgrade equipment and technology, respond to severe weather, and address inflationary pressures and employee turnover.

Central Hudson’s initial rate request in 2023 for a 16.5% increase was damaged by cascading billing errors which, according to a New York State Department of Public Service report, resulted in 5,000 customers never receiving bills, 8,000 households overcharged and 30,000 customers on auto pay being billed incorrectly.

By a separate $64.6 million agreement on June 20 with the Public Service Commission Central Hudson agreed to complete monthly reading of meters by Oct. 31, 2024, rather than bi-monthly or face a $2 million additional penalty.

As monthly meter reading began in April Central Hudson has begun issuing final termination notices to customers more than two months behind on their bills.

Central Hudson provides electric delivery to over 300,000 customers from Westchester to Albany. Since 2013 it has been owned by Fortis, a publicly traded Canadian company, which owns 10 utilities in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.