It will get a lot more expensive for Long Islanders to heat their homes under a National Grid rate hike approved by the state Public Service Commission (PSC).
National Grid customers in Nassau and Suffolk will see a 16.3% rate hike, while their Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island counterparts will see their gas costs increase 17.2%. Con Edison, New York State Electric and Gas, and Rochester Gas and Electric were permitted to raise their rates as well. The utilities argue that the increases are needed to force energy efficiency and fund renewable energy projects.
Restaurants and homeowners using gas for cooking won’t have to worry about the price hikes since the state is moving in the direction of banning gas stoves in a quest to make the state all electric.
Ever-rising fuel costs caused by policies coming out of Albany and Washington irk consumers even more when they realize that New York sits on a Saudi Arabia-sized store of clean burning natural gas the politicians won’t let them touch. The sting of government-induced inflation affects low-to-middle-class families the most, residents those who are causing the inflationary spiral purport to represent.
"We work with customers daily who are having to deal with, 'Am I going to pay my energy bill? Am I going to pay for my medicine? Am I going to pay for rent? Am I going to pay for my groceries?’” said Andrew Saavedra, staff attorney for the Public Utility Law Project. "All of these prices are increasing, and we have to remain cognizant of the increased costs that we're trying to saddle onto customers."
The Sane Energy Project has started a petition asking Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject the rate hikes. They note a U.S. Energy Information Administration report that 2022 saw the most significant annual increase in spending on utilities since it began calculating the number in 1984.
Experts warn of even higher costs as state leaders are putting all of their energy chips in the renewable basket without backing up intermittent sources such as solar and wind with natural gas generators that can run 24-7.
To sign the rate hike petition, go to www.saneenergy.org