NY commission OKs more electric, gas rate hikes in Hudson Valley amid calls for overhaul

Orange and Rockland Utilities Inc. customers in Rockland County will see increases in already high energy bills, prompting calls from some elected officials to reform the state agency that decides rates and oversees utilities.

The Public Service Commission approved a three-year plan that spells out allowed rate increases for typical O&R residential electric and gas customers that will begin April 1.

Residential electric customers will experience rate increases of 4.6%, 3.3%, and 3.5% over the three-year period. Additionally, typical residential gas heating customers will see increases of 10.9%, 3.5%, and 3.8%.

PSC officials said in a statement that the agency cut down the utility's rate request.

“As a result of this negotiated settlement, we have been able to drastically minimize any rate increase for customers,” Commission Chair Rory M. Christian said in a statement.

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Christian said the three-year rate plan allows the company to provide its customers with safe and reliable electric and natural gas service, as well as continuing to develop a cleaner energy distribution system.

He said the rate plan ensures critical investments are made for the continuation of safe and reliable service.

Instead of granting the full amount, the Commission statement said the members adopted no increase in revenues for the first year for electric, significantly less than the $18.1 million O&R originally requested (The rate increase O&R customers will experience this year is due to several factors, including recovery of lost revenue because this plan didn't go into effect in January 2025.)

The PSC adopted a first-year gas increase of $10.5 million — nearly 30% less than the $14.4 million requested.

O&R serves about 233,000 residential and commercial electric customers in southeastern New York state and 140,000 natural gas customers in its New York territory.

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O&R, which filed its rate increase request in January 2024, said in a statement that under the new rate, the average monthly total electric bills for a residential customer using 600 kilowatt hours per month would increase by 4.6% in 2025, 3.3% in 2026, and 3.5% in 2027.

The average monthly total gas bills for residential heating customers using 100 cubic feet per month would increase by 10.9% in 2025, 3.5% in 2026, and 3.8% in 2027.

O&R said the brokered deal allows the utility to continue focusing on development of O&R’s clean and resilient energy projects, additional storm hardening programs, and the company’s Energy Affordability Programs, which will provide approximately $14 million in electric bill discount credits and $7 million in gas bill discount credits to low-income customers in 2025.

"The three-year investment plan provides for substantial investment in the communities O&R serves in Rockland, Orange, and Sullivan counties for energy efficiency, carbon emissions reduction, and the development of environmentally beneficial electrical technologies, such as electric vehicle charging infrastructure," the utility said in a statement.

James Skoufis, Shelley Mayer condemn utility cost increases

The PSC rate plan approval didn't sit well with Sen. James Skoufis, D-Cornwall, and Sen. Shelley Mayer, D-White Plains, whose district in Westchester includes Consolidated Edison.

They are galvanizing support to restructure the Public Service Commission to make the agency more consumer-friendly by prioritizing ratepayers. They are calling for the passage of legislation that modifies the process that has resulted in the approval of what they deem as outrageous utility rates.

Skoufis said the PSC has failed consumers, yet again, as he and Mayer blasted the commission’s repeated approval of compounding rate increases that show little regard for ratepayers.

They noted that a 2024 audit by the state comptroller found inadequacies in PSC’s planning for implementation of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, using “outdated data” and “incorrect calculations” that could put ratepayers at risk as they evaluate the environmental merits of various rate cases.

“The Commission continues to exercise little more than a wrist-slap for greedy utility companies: at the same time that O&R is crying poverty to the PSC, they’re reporting corporate returns of 7-10%,” said Skoufis, who chairs the Senate Investigations & Government Operations Committee.

“The PSC is supposed to serve the public, yet, clearly, they serve at the behest of utility shareholders," Skoufis said in a statement. "With their O&R rate hike, including a 10.9% increase in gas rates this year, they decided to line the pockets of out-of-town fat cats on the backs of my constituents who can barely afford their utility bills as-is."

Skoufis said the "behavior is tantamount to highway robbery. I’m calling for a complete and immediate overhaul of the PSC. All of the top so-called regulators must be removed, and the process by which utilities receive rate hikes needs wholesale reform."

Many of Mayer's constituents are served by Con Edison, the parent company of O&R, and pay some of the highest rates in the state.

"The Public Service Commission is failing to meet its responsibility to set delivery rates for gas, electric, and other regulated utilities that are fair, just, and reasonable," Mayer said. "If the PSC cannot fulfill its primary responsibility, it must be held accountable and work towards a solution that prioritizes New Yorkers' rights to stable utility rates that are as low as possible.”