Could electric rates double over 3 years?

Queens Chronicle wrote an article about the electricity rate increases and power companies' property tax cuts that will affect all New Yorkers. I am calling on the federal government to reverse this decision.

Federal regulators are reconsidering a decision that could hike electric rates in the city 16 percent this year for residential customers and 21.5 percent for businesses, though there’s no guarantee they’ll change their minds, a state senator from Queens said this week.

Con Edison just imposed a 4 percent rate increase, but that hike is not at issue. What’s disputed is a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission determination made in late January which, through the complex mechanisms governing the energy sector, could add 12 percent more for homeowners and 17.5 percent more for businesses, according to elected officials who are outraged over the hikes.

One of those is state Sen. Mike Gianaris (D-Astoria), who said in an interview on Tuesday that the FERC has indicated it’s reviewing the decision. Gianaris, along with U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Mayor Bloomberg, has been especially vocal about the ruling since its potential impact was reported in the New York Post last Friday.

Read the full article here.