Assemblyman Dave McDonough (R,C,I-Merrick) today commented on a report which indicated that the Public Service Commission (PSC) may allow utility companies to pass natural gas pipeline repair costs on to consumers. McDonough said other solutions would be just as viable and would not further burden consumers who already pay some of the highest utility rates and taxes in the nation.

“Long Island residents are suffocating under some of the nation’s highest utility rates and the 18-a utility tax for years,” McDonough said. “It is discouraging that New York’s public service advocates’ mentality is to automatically produce a solution that would adversely impact its taxpayers. While I agree that deteriorating portions of the pipeline will present a serious safety hazard if not replaced, we should consider other solutions such as splitting the cost of replacement between the state and utility companies or using some of the newly-acquired government surplus funding to restore the pipeline. Utility companies already are raking in astronomical profits, and they should not be allowed to ask our citizens to pay even more.”

McDonough’s comments come after a report was recently released in Capital New York that cited PSC Chairwoman Audrey Zibelman’s inclination to allow natural gas companies to pass costs on to consumers as they begin to repair the 12,000 miles of leak-prone pipeline that runs throughout New York State.