"In approving this rate hike, the Public Service Commission failed to uphold its duty to protect ratepayers and act in the public interest. The consequences of this decision are devastatingly real – not just ‘emotional’ or ‘political,’ as a commissioner suggested during their commentary. People will be forced to choose between heat and healthcare. Seniors will skip medications. Families will cut back on necessities just to pay the bills. 

"For more than a year – not weeks, as some Commissioners suggested during their questioning – we have been speaking out against current unconscionable utility bills, proposed rate hikes, and the rate-making process. For more than a year, we have been amplifying the voices of thousands of ratepayers, organizing our communities, and pushing legislation to protect New Yorkers from unfair, unjust, and unaffordable rate hikes. For more than a year, we have called for the ratepayers to be put first and shareholders second. 

"We know this advocacy has been heard. That’s why it’s so disingenuous that the Public Service Commission dismissed the voices of tens of thousands of New Yorkers as merely ‘multiple individuals.’ That characterization is insulting to the thousands who took the time to speak out, to share their struggles, and to demand fairness. The rate-setting process is dense, opaque, and inscrutable, and its complexity and intricacy leave the public in the dark – it is a process that is heavily skewed in favor of the utility and its shareholders.