Public hearings set for Central Hudson's proposed rate hikes
Central Hudson is proposing raising their rates – up 16-percent for residential electric bills and 19-percent for natural gas bills. If approved, the increase would amount to an extra $1 per day for electric customers and another $1 per day for natural gas (an increase in Central Hudson’s delivery revenues by approximately $139.5 million for electric and $41.5 million for natural gas).
Why is Central Hudson raising their rates?
"We believe that this proposed rate plan is essential to address our infrastructure needs, recover from the impacts of COVID-19, and ensure that we can respond effectively to extreme weather events – which are occurring more frequently," stated Joe Hally, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Central Hudson in a press release on the proposed rate increases.
Isn’t Central Hudson being investigated for billing issues?
In April, a New York State Department of Public Service report revealed that Central Hudson’s billing system was “riddled with hundreds of programming errors leading to nearly 5,000 customers not receiving their bills, 8,000 customers being overcharged, and more than 30,000 customers whose autopay was billed incorrectly – and costing them over $16 million.” In July, an independent monitor was appointed in an effort to hold Central Hudson accountable on their promise to fix their billing failures. In addition, in lieu of estimated billing, Central Hudson plans to be able to read a vast majority of customer meters every month by December 2024.
“Hudson Valley families are still reeling from a year-plus of Central Hudson’s systemic failures. While the company is now working to fix these issues and rebuild trust, it’s absolutely unacceptable to raise costs on our hard-working families until all of their billing issues are fully remedied,” remarked Congressman Pat Ryan.
A chance to comment on the rate increase:
The rate plan proposal will undergo a lengthy review process by the state Public Service Commission, which has the authority to approve, modify or reject the proposed terms.
The final approved plan rate will then be reflected in the delivery rates for electric and natural gas services on customers’ bills around July 1, 2024.
In the meantime, there will be several in-person public hearings in the Hudson Valley this week so the public can add their comments to the record.
In-person public statement hearings on Central Hudson’s proposed rate increases:
Catskill: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 1:30pm at the Robert Antonelli Senior Center, 15 Academy Street, Catskill
Newburgh: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 6pm at SUNY Orange-Newburgh Campus, Kaplan Hall Great Room #101, 73 First Street, Newburgh
Poughkeepsie: Wednesday, October 18, 2023 at 1pm at Poughkeepsie Town Hall, One Overrocker Road, 2nd Floor, Poughkeepsie
Kingston: Wednesday, October 18, 2023 at 6pm at the Restorative Justice Community Empowerment Center, 733 Broadway, Kingston
For those who cannot attend or prefer not to speak at a public statement hearing, comments can be submitted to the Public Service Commission via an online form or via mail. Comments should refer to “Case 23-E-0418 and Case 23-G-0419 – Central Hudson.” To submit a comment, go to www.dps.ny.gov, click on “File Search”, enter the case number (23-E-0418 or 23-G-0419) in the box labelled “Search by Case Number,” and then click on “Post Comments” located at the top right of the page.
Alternatively, comments may be mailed to the Hon. Michelle L. Phillips, Secretary, Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350. All written comments will become part of the record considered by the Commission and may be accessed on the Department of Public Service website by searching the case numbers, as described above, and clicking on the “Public Comments” tab.
Sources:
https://dps.ny.gov/pending-and-recent-electric-rate-cases
https://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterCaseNo=23-E-0418
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