|
This hard-fought victory was achieved through months of pressure and negotiations with Central Hudson in their most recent rate case. Rate cases are one of the few ways that New Yorkers can advocate for better utility service, fight back against rate hikes that only benefit utility shareholders and executives, and oppose specific investments in the utility gas system.
Based on an agreement reached in that case, the utility will use a combination of energy efficiency and renewable heating technologies over the next four years to achieve a 2.5% net decrease from 2019 levels in the amount of gas it sells to customers. The company will also stop promoting oil to gas conversions on its website and remove claims that gas is more environmentally friendly than oil. This agreement with Central Hudson shows that gas utilities can and should begin decreasing gas sales and transitioning their business models away from fossil fuels.
We at AGREE are particularly proud of this victory. We have gone toe-to-toe with utilities to fight gas expansion and reduce gas sales in almost every single rate case in New York since 2017. Four years ago, the reduction of a gas utility’s sales was an idea the utilities and state regulators would not even entertain.
In addition, AGREE worked alongside a number of other parties to extract several other concessions. Thanks to our combined advocacy with groups such as Citizens for Local Power and the Public Utility Law Project, the rate hike was reduced from an initial proposal of almost 3% per year to under 2% per year. In fact, electric rates will go down in the first year. Central Hudson also agreed to translate its website and bills into Spanish. The agreement also provides a process by which we and other advocates will meet with the utility to try to resolve outstanding customer debt if the state fails to act on the utility debt crisis before winter. See this press release for more information.
|
