CLP's Jen Metzger, Susan H. Gillespie, Betta Broad, Amy Trompetter, and Evelyn Wright were among those speaking out against the proposed Central Hudson rate plan at the Kingston public hearings.
Read the full article originally published in the Daily Freeman.
Jennifer Metzger, a member of the Rosendale Town Board and director of the group Citizens for Local Power, suggested the state investigate whether Central Hudson’s Canadian-based parent company, Fortis, has kept its promise to keep rates low by employing an “economy of scale” that involves the use of resources from its other facilities.
“A press release by Central Hudson [in 2013] stated that the acquisition would bring ‘substantial, long-term benefits’ owing to ‘Fortis’ strong credit rating, greater scale and access to capital,’” Metzger said. “We are now four years into Fortis ownership of Central Hudson, and we ask where are the promised benefits to customers? With the exception of a one-year rate freeze ... rates have increased every year.”