ALBANY, New York —Two major upstate gas and electric utilities owned by Avangrid want to raise customer bills more than 20 percent.
New York State Electric and Gas and Rochester Gas and Electric filed their rate proposal Monday, arguing they need to recover costs for storm recovery, unpaid bills and compliance with new in-state call center requirements.
NYSEG serves nearly 1 million electricity customers and 270,000 gas customers. RG&E serves 386,000 electricity customers and 320,000 natural gas customers. The two companies are owned by Avangrid, whose parent company is Spanish energy giant Iberdrola.
Why it matters: Utility rate hikes have become a political flash point as affordability remains top of mind for policymakers in New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) criticized the rate increase proposals.
