ALBANY, NY — Senator Peter Oberacker on September 25 unveiled the New York State Ratepayer Bill of Rights. The proposal outlines ten fundamental rights that utility customers should be guaranteed from accurate billing to fair outage compensation.

It comes at a crucial time, as ratepayers across the state are grappling with rising costs, unreliable service, and growing concerns over corporate influence and foreign ownership of utility companies, according to Oberacker's office. 

“For too long, utility companies have operated in a system that favors profits over people,” said Oberacker. “This plan restores balance by putting the power back where it belongs, in the hands of the ratepayers, not boardrooms of corporate utilities or their overseas parent companies.”

Key Protections in the Ratepayer Bill of Rights include:

• Mandatory public hearings and independent review before any rate increases

• Full transparency on billing formulas, rate structures, and executive compensation

• Strict penalties for overbilling, poor communication, or service failure

• Automatic bill credits for extended power outages

• A permanent ban on political contributions from regulated utility companies to elected officials or oversight committees

• Creation of a Utility Consumer Advocate Office to stand up for customer interests

• Financial safeguards to prevent shutoffs during extreme weather or hardship

• Public access to infrastructure safety reviews, including grid reliability and battery storage

• A requirement that utilities maintain and modernize the power grid with independent audits

• Empowering local governments and communities to have a voice in utility project siting and expansions

The Ratepayer Bill of Rights is designed to put customers first ahead of special interests, foreign investors, or unaccountable utility executives.

“Over the last year, I have heard from hundreds of constituents telling horror stories of their experiences with utility companies,” Oberacker said. “Families in my district have been hit with $3,000 bills and unauthorized withdrawals of nearly $1,000 without warning. It’s time New Yorkers are treated as the ones who are footing the bill and not just treated like a bottom line.” 

Oberacker will introduce the Ratepayer Bill of Rights as a package of bills in the upcoming legislative session and is calling for broad bipartisan support to restore trust, fairness, and transparency in how utilities serve New York’s homes and businesses.