ALBANY – A bill sponsored by Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson (D, Newburgh) and Senator Michelle Hinchey (D, Saugerties) that prevents utilities like Central Hudson from getting automatic rate increases has been passed into law as part of the State Budget.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) is responsible for evaluating rate requests made by utilities in New York State. Previously, if the PSC denied a utility’s request for a rate increase without putting an alternative in place, the utility would automatically receive the full increase amount it requested.
The bill proposed by Jacobson and carried in the Senate by Hinchey requires a utility’s existing rate to stay in effect if the PSC rejects a rate increase request and doesn’t propose an alternative. This legislation was included in the State Budget and became law as part of the budget vote.
“For too long, utilities have held customers hostage to their demands. Now, if the PSC determines that the rate increase should be zero, it will be zero. There will be no automatic increases for Central Hudson and other providers,” said Jacobson.
This law is the latest effort by Jacobson and Hinchey to control utility costs and end bad billing practices by utilities like Central Hudson, which serves both legislators’ districts. Their previous bills, requiring a full explanation of capital expenses included in rate increase requests and putting limits on back billing, were signed into law in recent years.
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