Rockland officials join forces to oppose electric, gas rate increases sought by O&R

NEW CITY - A bevy of Rockland elected officials have urged a New York State oversight agency to reject electricity and gas rate increases sought by Orange & Rockland Utilities Inc.

The officials hired Dichter Law LLC to oppose the utility's request to have consumers pay more for electricity and gas. O&R is seeking the Public Service Commission's approval for an $18.1 million increase in electric revenues and $14.4 million in gas revenues, officials said.

The increase would cover three years and amount to yearly increases estimated at 1.4% for electricity and 3.2% for gas, County Executive Ed Day said on Thursday.

"It may not seem like a lot for some people but over three years that could be 10 percent," Day said. "We need them to sharpen their pencils like we do in county government and cut their costs."

A spokesperson for O&R, Allan Drury, said Thursday that the utility's "investment plan will help O&R transition to a clean energy future equitably and efficiently so all customers can share in the benefits of a more sustainable electric grid."

Drury said the utility "will maintain our commitment to assist our economically vulnerable customers, supporting the state’s efforts to improve the Energy Affordability Program, and targeting investment benefits to disadvantaged communities."

Rockland officials join forces against utility rate hike requests

The coalition of officials includes Day, the county's five town supervisors, Rockland legislators, and agencies like Rockland Green and the Rockland Sewer District. They came together to "express our opposition to the proposed rate increase by Orange and Rockland."

In a news release, the officials argued, "As costs continue to rise in nearly all sectors for Rockland County residents, these increases would place a heavy burden on the people of Rockland County, especially when they are currently paying the highest electric and gas rates in the country. We cannot continue to have these exorbitant increases in rates. We are calling on the PSC to review all of the proposed increases to protect the taxpayers of Rockland County."

Citizen intervenors have also gotten involved in opposing rate increases, not only for O&R but Veolia Water New York, a foreign-owned company that provides water for thousands of county residents outside Nyack and Suffern.

The officials and intervenors have opposed a rate increase for Veolia New York, whose bills were ranked as the highest in the state by the New York State Comptroller's Office.

Veolia's latest proposal would have raised residential water bills by some 14.2% for customers. Rockland and Orange County users would pay $5.74 more per month, or $67.68 annually. Westchester customers would pay $11.80 more per month or $141.60 per year. Putnam users would pay $5.99 more monthly or $71.88 per year.

Instead, the PSC approved a rate plan covering four years for Veolia, saying the agency members substantially reduced the first-year requested increase.

O&R customers saw their energy bills start to increase in 2022 between 1.4 and 3.2% each year for three years, under an agreement approved by the PSC. The increase came at a time of soaring energy costs, which O&R said was due to the cold winter, increased demand for power, the conflict in Ukraine, and a reliance on electricity powered by generation in plants that burned natural gas.

Haverstraw Supervisor Howard Phillips said O&R already has the highest rates in the state. He called the requested increase excessive to allow O&R's rate of return on equity to 10.5% and an overall increase on residential customers of more than twice the inflation rate.

"The proffered justification is the need to address deficiencies that past increases were to have rectified, such as poor storm damage response, upgrades to the system liability, and gas leaks," Phillips said. "It is an endless cycle of its customers paying more without service improvements."

Day said officials chose to hire Dichter Law LLC to present a united front. He said they've done the same for other utilities.

"The using of one firm represents a cost-saving, an idea the supervisors and myself came up with instead of all of us doing our own thing," Day said.

O&R, an arm of Consolidated Edison, provides electricity for 239, 000 customers, including residents of Rockland, Orange, and parts of New Jersey. The utility provides gas for 139,000 customers. In total, O&R provides electricity for 309,000 customers in New York and New Jersey.

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com Twitter: @lohudlegal

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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rockland NY fights rate increases sought by Orange & Rockland Utilities