During their March 27 session, the Steuben County Legislature has urged state officials to take action against NYSEG, an energy provider, for its excessive increase in utility prices.
According to the Steuben County Legislature, NYSEG is asking for a 34.9% increase in electric customers’ rates and a 14.9% increase in gas customers’ rates. Steuben County’s reports indicated that these rate hikes would result in a $240 increase in the average annual bill of NYSEG customers.
“New York already has some of the highest rates in the country,” said County Legislature Chairman Scott Van Etten.
NYSEG’s proposal has also been criticized by the New York State Department of Public Service. According to the department’s testimony, the rate filings contained “many deficiencies and errors.” The department stated that NYSEG has been “vague and non-responsive” to their queries regarding the filings. Moreover, the department highlighted that a management audit conducted in 2016 revealed that NYSEG’s previous rate filing had similar issues.
The NYS DPS and Steuben County’s findings came after an increase in customer complaints about NYSEG. The county reported more than 4,700 complaints in 2022, over 60% more than in 2020 and 2021 combined. Due to the number of complaints, the New York State Public Service Commission is investigating NYSEG’s billing practices.
Steuben County’s resolution stated, “The billing problems as well as the inadequacies of the rate filings call into question the administrative competence of this monopoly utility.” It also added that “public trust has eroded.”
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