"On Monday, New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) filed for a 23.7% rate hike on its residential customers’ average monthly electric bill and a 33.5% hike on the average monthly gas bill. This request is shocking, unconscionable, and I call upon the Public Service Commission (PSC) to reject it in its entirety.

At a time when New Yorkers are struggling to make ends meet, NYSEG’s request to hike its delivery rates demonstrates its complete disconnect from the plight of ratepayers.

Already overburdened and reeling from NYSEG’s existing rates, constituents frequently contact me about the sharp increases in their bills. Senior citizens are being forced to choose between paying their rent and paying their utilities. In contrast to the breathtaking proposed increases, seniors on Social Security received a meager 1.5% cost-of-living increase in their monthly payment.

Given my intense concern over the potential impact of this rate case on my constituents, and just as I did in the ongoing Con Edison rate cases, I will become a party (an “intervenor”) in the NYSEG rate cases. As an intervenor, I will have the ability to obtain detailed filings, submit questions (interrogatories) to which NYSEG is required to reply, submit evidence and testimony, and participate in confidential settlement discussions.