Proposed Assessment by State Unfair to Utility Customers

A proposed increase of an assessment on utility bills by New York State would raise energy costs for Mid-Hudson Valley businesses and residents by an average of 2 percent. “We are strongly against this proposed increase, as it would place an unfair additional burden on our electric and natural gas customers,” said Denise D. VanBuren, Vice President for Public Affairs.

The proposed State Executive Budget, due to be approved April 1, includes a $651 million increase in the Section 18-A assessments on utilities, used to help fund government agencies. “This is an existing assessment on utility bills, and is proposed to increase more than six times the current rate,” said VanBuren. “The increase would cost Central Hudson customers an additional $12 million per year, adding nearly 2 percent to the typical residential electric bill, and more than 1 percent to residential natural gas bills and electric bills to businesses,” said VanBuren.

“When we file a rate proposal, funds are used to provide direct benefits to customers, such as infrastructure improvements and other costs associated with operating the electric and natural gas systems,” said VanBuren. “The increase in this hidden assessment, however, would not fund these direct customer services, and so places an undue burden on utility bills,” she said. “New York utility bills are amongst the most heavily taxed in the country -- already, taxes and assessments comprise approximately 25 percent of Central Hudson delivery charges -- and we feel that this increase is inappropriate and unfair to our customers.”

For more information on the potential affects of this proposed increase, visit the Business Council of New York at www.bcnys.org.

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