POUGHKEEPSIE – Days after the state announced an agreement with Central Hudson Gas and Electric to start monthly billing for actual electric usage and the hiring of an independent monitor to oversee its billing practices, the utility announced its proposal for a new rate plan.
The approximately 16 percent increase on the average residential electric bill and approximately 19 percent increase on the average residential natural gas bill would take effect when the current rate plan expires in June 2024.
Senator Michelle Hinchey (D, Saugerties) is not pleased at all with the announcement.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Central Hudson should not receive a rate increase, and most certainly not at a time when the company is being investigated by the PSC for improper billing practices while continuing to issue inaccurate bills to Hudson Valley residents,” she said.
The company said Monday that the proposed rate hikes would “meet the evolving needs of its customers and comply with New York’s climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection act.”
The proposal would allocate funds to replace aging infrastructure; some 75 percent of the investment would target infrastructure replacement. Twenty percent of existing electric infrastructure is beyond its expected useful life, the company said.
It will also incorporate technologies to facilitate greater interconnection of clean, renewable resources and support the adoption of energy conservation and use of electric vehicles and heat pumps.
The proposal would also allocate additional resources to address severe weather events.
Other elements of the plan include customer service improvements, preparing for the transition from bimonthly to monthly meter reading, expanded assistance programs, covering costs of increasing the workforce by 20 percent in the aftermath of COVID-19, and complying with clean energy mandates.
