Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson (D-104) sent a letter to the Public Service Commission (PSC) requesting more public hearings before a final decision on Central Hudson's application for a rate hike. He also repeated his opposition to the proposed increase.

Central Hudson and the PSC have been locked in litigation over the utility’s request to increase its rates by 27.5% for electric and 33.2% for gas. Two Administrative Law Judges assigned to the case recommended rate increases of 16.7% for electric and 21.8% for gas.

“While this is much less than Central Hudson’s original request, the amount is way too high,” Jacobson said. “The original request was merely a bargaining chip and was never a serious proposal, so this recommendation is not a win for consumers.”

“To make matters worse, the proposed increase is only for one year. That is unconscionable,” he continued. “We all know that Central Hudson will be asking for more next year.”

In the letter, Jacobson noted that the proposed electric and gas rate increases are more than 5 and 6 times, respectively, the rate of inflation. He also outlined his history with Central Hudson, explaining that his office has been battling the utility over bad billing practices since 2022.

Governor Hochul recently signed the Assemblymember’s legislation to end chronic late billing by Central Hudson and other utility companies, and to require utilities to provide 13 months of prior usage data with each bill, so customers can determine if they are being overcharged. Jacobson also passed a bill this session to curb estimated billing.

“It is not time to reward a utility that has been recklessly managed with a blank check from the Commission. Customers of Central Hudson have learned not to trust the utility’s numbers, and neither should the Public Service Commission,” Jacobson concluded.

The Commission is expected to decide on the rate increase later this summer and has not yet responded to Jacobson’s requests.