SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — “The incremental year after year rubber stamping by the [Public Service Commission] PSC of the rates on customers has hit critical mass,” said Karen Meneghin—a Yulan resident, Narrowsburg business owner and admin of the Facebook group “My NYSEG bill has doubled”— to the Sullivan County Legislature on March 20.

Meneghin’s public comment and the resolution passed by the legislature urging the Public Service Commission—the oversight body that negotiates and approves energy company delivery rate increases—comes on the heels of a large outcry by county residents reporting seemingly indiscriminate doubled and tripled energy bills this winter.

Public outcry from Facebook groups like Meneghin’s led to New York State Assemblymember Paula Kay and state Sen. Peter Oberacker to organize a workshop with customer service representatives from New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) in late February that was attended by over 100 residents.

Energy bills are confusing. One important point, which NYSEG has continued to point out amidst the public frustrations, is that they do not control the price of energy. But NYSEG and energy companies are responsible for delivery rates—the cost energy companies charge customers to deliver their energy. 

In an effort to address the delivery rates, Meneghin urged the legislature to request a “rate-roll back.” District 9 legislator Terry Blosser-Bernardo proposed a resolution for the legislature to urge the PSC to “thoroughly scrutinize NYSEG’s proposal and reject any rate increases that are not justified or that would unduly burden consumers.”

The NYSEG delivery rate increase referenced in the resolution was already approved by the PSC in 2023. The hike, implemented over three years, will increase NYSEG’s electric delivery rate by 62 percent and the gas delivery rate by 17.8 percent. The first two rate increases that were approved have already gone into effect. The last rate increase will take effect in May. 

District 5 legislator Cat Scott, who says she has worked in an energy-adjacent industry for nine years, pointed out that the delivery rate increase was already approved by the PSC years prior.

“Right now, as this resolution is written, it doesn’t really do anything,” Scott said, adding, “It’s really not worth the paper it’s printed on.”

Scott suggested submitting something to the PSC when NYSEG applies for another delivery rate increase and thought it was a good idea to add other energy providers in the area, like Orange & Rockland and Central Hudson, who currently have higher delivery rates than NYSEG.

“If we really wanna advocate and really wanna do something, we talk to them about the next filing,” she said.

Ultimately, the legislature, with the exception of District 1 legislator Matt McPhillips, who recused himself because he’s employed by NYSEG, passed an amended resolution that urged the PSC to scrutinize proposed delivery rates in the future, not just from NYSEG but also Orange & Rockland and Central Hudson.   

A New York State energy expert, who asked not to be named, has worked on both the side of the consumer and energy company, and said the best thing for an individual who wants to keep their energy bill low is to file a comment with the PSC when there are new proposed delivery rate filings. The expert says it’s difficult to be an effective advocate on the individual level as the rate cases are highly technical, but the PSC is charged to listen and consider customer voices in these cases. The expert also said there are still billing errors, and you can always call your energy company.

Why are my energy bills so high? 

Already approved delivery rate increases do not account for the doubled and tripled energy bills reported by Sullivan residents this winter—so what is it? 

Shelby Cohen, NYSEG director of communications, said the number of people who attended February’s workshop “is illustrative of the different factors that are causing folks to need help. It’s that supply prices are rising at the same time as we have cold temperatures.”

Cohen referenced price increases in energy supply, which energy companies like NYSEG do not set the price of, as one culprit of rising bills. Unlike delivery rates, which are regulated and approved by the PSC, energy supply prices are minimally regulated and subject to market fluctuations. 

Energy companies like NYSEG partially hedge the cost of energy supply to minimize some volatility. NYSEG regional manager Thomas Garrity explained that energy companies never hedge entirely. 

The same energy expert told the River Reporter that energy companies hedge in advance and typically use recent average weather and usage to determine how much to hedge. 

The energy expert said it’s conceivable that companies hedged less based on recent warmer winters and lower usage, which could have introduced volatility in the price of energy supply this winter. 

Energy meter reading matters

Garrity said another factor that could be impacting people’s NYSEG bills is the type of meter reading system they have. NYSEG offers a standard straight read that gives one reading per day and a day/night meter that takes both a day and night reading and has different service rates. He says NYSEG is allowed to hedge the cost of energy supply for straight-read meters but not day/night meters, so the supply costs for electricity for day/night meters can fluctuate more and be affected by demand. 

“The most complaints are when people have day/night meters and are fully electric,” said Garrity. He explained that electric use goes up the most in the winter, with electric users and the supply price of electricity being more susceptible to the effects of supply and demand because there is no hedging with day/night meters. 

Read previous energy bill reporting at here and here.