New Yorkers Deserve a Watchdog for Soaring Energy Bills
Every month in New York, families face a familiar, stressful ritual: opening their gas and electric bills and bracing for another sharp increase. These numbers, which keep rising, are something New Yorkers have little control over, yet they are the ones scrambling to cover them. This year, more than 1.2 to 1.3 million New Yorkers are reported to be behind on utility bills, collectively owing between $1.8 and $2.3 billion. In New York City and Westchester alone, nearly 16% of Con Edison customers ended 2024 in arrears, with almost $950 million outstanding. Behind these numbers are real people—families struggling to pay, seniors living on fixed incomes falling further behind, and small businesses burdened by balances they cannot absorb.
Despite this growing crisis, oversight from Albany has been largely absent. Utility companies such as Con Edison, National Grid, NYSEG, and RG&E have repeatedly requested rate hikes, which have been routinely approved by the Public Service Commission, a small group of state appointees. These approvals raise bills for New Yorkers while ensuring guaranteed returns for the utilities. Crucial questions—whether these hikes are justified, whether affordability measures are in place, or whether over-collections are returned to ratepayers—remain largely unasked.
Also Read:This is where the role of the State Comptroller should matter most. Tasked with being New York’s independent fiscal watchdog, the Comptroller’s office has the authority to audit state agencies and track public funds. Applied to energy bills, this oversight would mean investigating rate increases, ensuring accountability, and returning any excess funds to consumers. Yet, sustained scrutiny and meaningful audits have been largely missing. Bills rise, debts accumulate, and families are left struggling while oversight remains silent.
For working New Yorkers, these rate increases are not abstract—they are an added $25, $40, or $60 each month, layered onto rent, groceries, childcare, and medications. Seniors on fixed incomes feel it immediately; immigrant families in overcrowded apartments feel it acutely; small businesses feel it in disappearing margins. Energy bills in many parts of the state have climbed 25–35% since 2020, and the rise of high-demand users like data centers and AI facilities only increases costs, often subsidized by ordinary households while large corporations negotiate discounts.
This is why an independent “cop on the beat” is needed. Every dollar spent on utilities should be treated like a public dollar that deserves protection. That means auditing how rate hikes are approved, following major energy deals, highlighting where risk falls on ratepayers while profits are guaranteed to utilities, and advocating for stronger tools to protect consumers. Organizing utility customers into a collective voice is essential to ensure that decision-makers hear from the people who actually pay the bills.
New York’s energy crisis is solvable, but only if accountability, transparency, and advocacy are placed at its center. Consumers need representation, and New Yorkers deserve a watchdog who will fight for them—ensuring that bills are fair, investments are wise, and every dollar is treated as if it matters to the people who earned it.
Read More:
0 Comments