To the editor:

It has come to the Partnership’s attention that New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) is requesting an increase to electric and gas rates. On the surface, public reaction can be quite negative, based both on NYSEG having obtained a rate increase in 2023 and the economic difficulties facing many Sullivan County residents, not to mention businesses trying to cover their costs. 

There is another side to this, however. Energy has experienced higher costs as well. Maintenance, delivery, equipment orders, and all that is associated with providing power, is costly. No one is ever eager to pay more for a utility bill. But in small towns like ours, outdated infrastructure can lead to outages and delays. These are costs for businesses and losses for households as well. Lack of proper infrastructure may limit business development and thereby limit jobs, business expansion, and tax collection. Keeping energy flowing, homes safe, and expanding our electric grid will ensure we are positioned to grow economically while allowing businesses and households to operate with limited interruption. 

NYSEG’s plan must prioritize the needs of customers on limited budgets who cannot afford further increases in their energy costs. It is crucial to recognize that many individuals in our community face tough choices between paying their electric bills and cutting back on essential electricity usage. To address this, NYSEG should actively assist customers in applying for programs that can provide financial relief, such as the HEAP home heating program, which could be expanded to cover electricity costs. Ensuring that these vulnerable populations receive the support they need should be a fundamental aspect of any plan developed by NYSEG. By doing so, they can help alleviate the burden on those with limited resources and prevent them from facing dire choices due to rising utility fees.

As part of the 2023 rate plan, NYSEG invested $880 million in capital improvements that made significant system improvement, but with much more to do. Outage responses improved by 50 percent, with automation now turning hours-long outages to minutes in most cases. 

The NYSEG Powering NY plan calls for millions of dollars of improvements in our area with upgrades in Liberty and Ferndale via improvements to the Ferndale substation, an area we have been working on for significant economic development investment. More capacity and reliability are needed along the Old Route 17 corridor to attract meaningful industrial commercial investment and the associated job opportunities. 

NYSEG’s plan addresses current and future needs of our service territory as our area continues to grow. It directly addresses aging infrastructure, including 20,000 poles and breakers that are more than 40 years old. Outages impacted 411,000 customers in 2024 alone. The plan funds comprehensive upgrades to transmission lines, substations, and distribution equipment while expanding automation to continue to shorten restoration times and enhance system capacity. Additionally, the plan includes expansion of broadband to rural areas, a very large amount of proactive vegetation clearing, continued smart meter installation, and other investments. 

The Public Service Commission, the regulatory body that will rule on the plan, exists to ensure energy in NY is safe, reliable, and reasonably priced. If we want stronger communities, we will need to invest in infrastructure across all utility sectors, particularly in energy. Kicking the can down the road will only present higher costs and growing challenges in the future. Supporting the Powering NY plan, while keeping in mind the neediest in our communities, makes the most sense not just for today’s rural New Yorkers, but also for the generations that will follow us.