HUDSON VALLEY- Scores of Putnam residents packed the Mahopac Library Saturday to protest proposed rate hikes by the New York State Electric & Gas Company, which has requested approval from the New York State Public Service Commission to increase electric rates and delivery charges by some 35 percent and natural gas delivery rates by nearly 40 percent, far exceeding the low single-digit inflation rates seen over the past year.
The anger was expressed before State Senator Peter Harckham who hosted a ‘Coffee and Conversation’ gathering.
The senator, who represents constituents in four of Putnam’s six towns as well as 17 towns, villages and cities in northern Westchester and the town of Stony Point in Rockland County, shared the anger many community members feel over rising utility rates.
Utility companies have pointed to state green energy requirements supported by Harckham as a major cost driver. Just this past week, Governor Kathy Hochul’s budget director voiced concern about provisions in the state’s environmental law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, indicating that costs to implement aspects of the act will come in significantly higher than anticipated. Harckahm has maintained his support for the legislation and serves as the chairman of the Environmental Conservation Committee in the state Senate.
For his part, Harckham denounced the proposed increases, encouraging residents to submit comments to the Public Service Commission opposing the hikes. He pointed to the commission’s recent decision to reduce a proposed rate increase from Con Edison by 85 percent following significant public outcry from elected officials and more than 18,000 comments from residents.
Attendees also raised concerns about the growth of data centers, driven by the AI boom, and their substantial energy demands. Harckham noted that proposed state legislation would require large-scale data centers to shoulder their own energy costs, rather than shifting the financial burden onto ratepayers.
The conversation also addressed the projected impacts of the enacted federal budget on New York State. The state is expected to lose an estimated $13.5 billion annually in healthcare funding due to Medicaid cuts, potentially leaving 1.5 million New Yorkers uninsured and which will more than double the current uninsured rate. These funding reductions could also lead to hospital closures and the loss of approximately 63,000 healthcare jobs statewide.
On a brighter side, Harckham reported good news for the Carmel and Mahopac School Districts highlighting his work to secure increased school aid for Putnam’s largest school systems which have seen funding increases of $7.65 million (23 percent) and $13.21 million (32.6 percent) respectively since he took office in 2019. Despite these large increases in funding, the boosts haven’t kept pace with the growth of the state budget, which significantly outpaced inflation and has increased around $92 billion (54 percent) over the same period.
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