Kingston, NY – Earlier today, the PSC voted 7-0 in favor of Central Hudson’s Joint Proposal, following a discussion. Below is Assemblymember Shrestha’s comment.

“Today’s PSC vote and discussion to approve rate increases for Central Hudson made it abundantly clear that state regulation of investor-owned utilities is a sham for customers—and that if we want to actually lower rates and invest in a twenty-first century grid, we must get rid of investor-owners altogether.

In the Department of Public Service’s own words today, just and reasonable rates must also mean ‘fairness to investors,’ and the rates must balance ‘affordability concerns against utility shareholders’ constitutional right to earn a reasonable return on investment.‘

Further, DPS also argued that the proposed Return on Equity (ROE) rate, which affects how much profits utilities are authorized to collect, ‘appropriately balances ratepayers’ interest against the commission’s obligation to provide the company with a fair opportunity to earn a return...’ In other words, the interest of shareholders must be considered as a matter of obligation!

And if that isn’t enough to reach the logical conclusion that state regulation will never protect New Yorkers as long as shareholders are allowed to earn a profit from our energy utilities, DPS’s own argument proves our point:‘Contrary to Assemblymember’s arguments, it would not be appropriate to consider any comparison of publicly-owned utilities in setting the returns of investor-owned utilities because publicly-owned utilities do not share the same risks of operations and they have access to funding that is unavailable to investor-owned utilities.’

That’s right. Publicly-owned utilities, such as the one we want to create, the Hudson Valley Power Authority, would not face the same risks as Central Hudson, and would have access to funding that does not depend on shareholders. It’s exactly why we want to pass our bill to replace Central Hudson with a publicly-owned utility.

It should also be noted that as part of the discussion, PSC Commissioner James S. Alesi asked about our proposal for the PSC to study if a public takeover would lower rates for the customers. Alesi then joked that he already had a simple answer, which is that this already happens in Cuba. It appears that one of the seven commissioners responsible for the regulation of our investor-owned utilities is unaware, or chooses to ignore, that the country’s largest publicly-owned energy provider exists right here in our state, the New York Power Authority, and that elsewhere in the country, such as in the City of Austin, a publicly-owned utility has existed since 1895, helping to raise revenues for the city’s budget year after year. Dismissive comments like these are why the public has begun to lose faith in PSC’s ability to hold investor-owned utilities accountable.

Furthermore, this is the second year in a row that some PSC commissioners have noted voting ‘no’ on the proposal would be worse for the ratepayers than voting ‘yes’ because the rates would default to Central Hudson’s outrageous initial proposal otherwise – another reminder that the process ultimately does not work in favor of ratepayers, that it originates from the investor-owned utility, and holds even the decisions of commissioners hostage. The time has come to realize tweaks and reforms aren’t enough. To keep rates low for customers while we build a modern grid, we must pass our bill to replace Central Hudson with a publicly-owned utility.”

The Hudson Valley Power Authority Act (A02127/S02026), introduced by Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha and Senator Michelle Hinchey, creates a state-owned corporation, the Hudson Valley Power Authority (HVPA), that is authorized to acquire Central Hudson and run it as a publicly-owned and democratic energy with no profit motive.