AHEAD OF CENTRAL HUDSON LITIGATION BEGINNING TOMORROW, CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN REITERATES DEMAND TO HALT RATE INCREASE
Ahead of Central Hudson Litigation Beginning Tomorrow, Congressman Pat Ryan Reiterates Demand to Halt Rate Increase
In July, Central Hudson filed to increase electric rates by 16% and natural gas rates by 19%; litigation will allow rate case to proceed in full view of the public
Ryan slammed the proposed increase as soon as it was announced, and supported PULP’s Motion to Deny in October
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Pat Ryan applauded the Public Service Commission (PSC) for its decision to litigate the Central Hudson rate case, and reiterated his demand to halt the rate increase. In July, Central Hudson filed to increase electric rates by 16% and natural gas rates by 19%, even though their parent company, Fortis, made well over $1 billion in profit last year. Litigation begins tomorrow, January 24th, at 10:00am – further details can be found here.
“Hudson Valley families are feeling the pressure of making ends meet – Central Hudson has absolutely no business raising rates, especially after years of systemic failures,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “I want to thank the Public Service Commission for heeding the calls of Hudson Valley families and taking the nearly unprecedented, but extremely warranted, step of pursuing formal litigation. An extra thank you to the Public Utility Law Project, whose efforts have been instrumental in getting us to this point. I’ll never stop fighting on behalf of our Hudson Valley community.”
In July, immediately after Central Hudson filed to raise rates, Congressman Ryan slammed the proposed increase as “absolutely unacceptable,” and demanded the company “cease its attempts to raise rates.” Congressman Ryan called attention to the New York Public Service Commission’s public hearing series, which was widely attended in both virtual and in-person meetings. In July, an independent monitor was appointed in an effort to hold Central Hudson accountable on their promise to fix their billing failures.
Central Hudson replaced its CEO following Representative Ryan’s calls for his resignation on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. Ryan has held a series of workshops connecting Central Hudson customers in NY-18 with company representatives to resolve billing issues, establish accountability, and rebuild trust.
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