MONTICELLO — New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) representatives met with Sullivan County residents Tuesday at Thompson Town Hall, where customers sought answers and assistance after seeing their electricity bills double this past winter.

The community connection event, held on a first-come, first-served basis, allowed customers to review their accounts one-on-one with company representatives and connect with available assistance programs.

Dylan Miyoshi, eastern regional manager for government and community relations at NYSEG, said many who attended were trying to understand what drove the increases.

“[Customers] are looking at their bills from over the winter season,” he said. “Most of these customers, from our previous experiences, are what we call day/night customers.”

Day/night customers are billed under a different rate structure than standard residential users, with separate prices for electricity used during daytime and nighttime hours. Unlike standard accounts, those rates are not hedged against market volatility, leaving customers more exposed to sudden increases in supply costs.

Miyoshi also said customers on day/night billing plans have the option to switch to a standard residential rate by contacting NYSEG to request a change, which can be completed remotely in some cases or scheduled with a technician if needed.

He noted that customers who switch are typically required to remain on the new rate for at least one year.

‘A supplier’s market’

New York State Electric & Gas CEO Patricia Nilsen said the company has sought to hedge those rates but is limited by how they are structured under state regulation.

“In theory, the point of the day/night rate is to encourage customers to make real-time energy decisions and shift their use to the night,” Nilsen said. “If they are experiencing the actual supply price, it encourages that behavior.”

Nilsen said NYSEG has proposed hedging day/night rates in recent rate cases, but regulators have favored keeping those prices tied to market conditions.

Nilsen said the primary driver of higher bills is the cost of electricity supply, which the company purchases on the open market and passes directly to customers.

“If I pay a dollar for electricity, the customer pays that dollar. No difference,” she said.

Supply prices, she said, are not part of the company’s regulated delivery rates and instead fluctuate based on market conditions.

She said the impact of those supply costs was most visible during the winter, when prices increased sharply.

“In that time frame, part of the reason supply prices went up is because we had extreme cold,” she said. “It went all the way from Texas all the way up through New England.”

With roughly half of the region’s electricity tied to natural gas, Nilsen said the cold weather drove up demand and, in turn, prices.

“When everybody is asking for that energy, the suppliers can raise their prices because there’s more demand,” she said. “It essentially is a supplier’s market.”

‘We are hurting’

That impact was reflected in the experiences of customers who attended the event.

Despite not having a day/night plan, Sullivan County resident Al Russell said his winter bill more than doubled compared to last year, rising from about $150 to $360.

“The summer used to be $30 [a month], now it’s $60 [a month],” Russell said. “The winter used to be $150, it’s $360 now. They gotta do something with this.”

Another resident, Ann Moutner, described even higher bills and the difficulty of keeping up on a fixed income.

“I was having a hard time paying them,” Moutner said. “February I paid $787. March I paid $562.”

While Moutner said part of her February bill may have included charges carried over from the previous month, the amount still reflects a significant increase compared to the year prior.

Moutner, who relies on Social Security and two small pensions, said she attended the event looking for answers and assistance and was more or less satisfied with NYSEG’s explanations.

“The bills have been so high this winter,” she said. “We all are [hurting]. I can hear everybody saying something about how much they’ve been paying.”

Nilsen said she tries to keep her thermostat consistent throughout the day, instead opting to wear a sweater—a habit she said dates back to the days of President Jimmy Carter.

She said improvements to a home’s insulation can also make a difference, including sealing or replacing older windows and sealing gaps around doors to keep heat from escaping.

In warmer months, Nilsen said she uses blackout curtains to block sunlight and reduce the need for air conditioning.

Where to find assistance: 

Sullivan County Department of Social Services staff were also on site to connect residents with assistance programs, including the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP).

Rosie Wolf of the county’s Department of Family Services said qualifying households may receive help covering heating and electricity costs, as well as potential monthly bill discounts.

Residents can find out if they are eligible for HEAP by visiting the state’s benefits website at myBenefits.ny.gov, which includes a pre-screening tool to determine qualification. Applications can also be completed online, by mail or in person through the Sullivan County Department of Social Services.