CLP submits a letter to the PSC, signed by 131 elected officials, calling on them to reduce the fixed utility charges in New York State.
Listen to the full article originally aired on WAMC.
“The time is now, basically, to reform utility rates in New York,” Metzger says. “The Reforming the Energy Vision initiative, the governor’s initiative, has been going on since 2014. It’s all about encouraging customers to be more energy efficient, to reduce their use, to put solar panels on their homes and essentially empower customers to better manage their energy costs. And, as long as the utility’s fixed charges, which is that basic charge on your bill — and in Central Hudson territory, that’s $24 a month that we all pay — as long as those charges are really high, we can’t do that.”
Metzger, who also is a Rosendale Town councilwoman, says the rate structure is unfair to low-income customers.
“This structure of the rates really penalizes people who use less energy,” Metzger says. “They’re essentially subsidizing very high energy users.”