BUFFALO, N.Y. — It begins with this comment from New York State Public Service Commissioner John Howard from the Commission's February 16th meeting.
"The saddest part of what we're doing today is that no one will know. No one will pay attention. No one will know that upstate ratepayers are potentially having higher impacts than downstate ratepayers. They won't know. This will not appear in the Syracuse, Rochester, or Buffalo media."
We're two weeks late but 2 On Your Side is letting you know that your electric rates will apparently be going up due to the state's ongoing push to meet certain climate action goals as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act approved by the state lawmakers in 2019. That is according to these state utility regulators.
As we've explained before Governor Hochul and other New York leaders want state residents to eventually have total electric households without the replacement of fossil fuel appliances beyond 2030. That is from the 445-page Climate Action Council scoping plan released back in December.
The State Public Service Commission, not only determines utility rates but has been ordered to have an active role in reaching those goals. They include the stated goal that "70% of the State's Electricity Will Be Generated by Renewable Energy by 2030." and then "100% Zero-Emissions Electricity by 2040." Currently, renewable energy accounts for about 29 percent. Fossil fuels are currently about 50 percent.
The Commission voted 5 to 2 on February 16th to approve that collective $4.4 Billion dollar transmission line upgrade plan from the National Grid, NYSEG, and Central Hudson utility firms. This action would allow the utilities to draw in more power from more renewable energy projects encouraged as part of the plan by NYSERDA.
Those are projects like wind turbines, solar arrays, and hydropower.
But it comes with a cost. PSC Deputy Director Elizabeth Grisaru of the Office of Electric, Gas, and Water told the Commissioners at that meeting that "Staff estimates that customers' total bills would rise between 3 and 16 percent depending on their service classifications and location."
Commissioner John Maggiore shared this reflection before voting yes. "I don't like increasing rates - I don't think anybody on this commission does. But as is evident by the order there are enormous costs that are associated with achieving the state-wide goals that are mandated by law."
And Commissioner James Alesi from the Rochester area said also before voting in favor "4.4 Billion dollars is where we're going with what's before us today. What remains unknown is where we'll be and where we'll end up in the future. Nevertheless, this is a path that we have chosen."
Commissioner Diane Burman voted no and said she would file a dissenting opinion.
"We're looking at significant ratepayer impact and we're looking at uncertainty going forward." She pressed PSC staffers on whether costs could go higher for such upgrades in future years.
Burman added this was taking place outside the normal discussion and deliberations over regular rate increase requests from utilities.
"Since the state has largely taken over resource decisions, the idea is to have the ratepayers pick up the tab directly."
Commissioner Howard was very outspoken before casting a no vote as well.
"Those customers who have the least carbon impact on the state will be paying nearly double for this as compared to those customers that have the highest carbon impact on the state," he said he was referring to utilities operating in the New York City area.
A PSC staffer tried to clarify any rate adjustments by stating that downstate customers typically pay more for electric service than upstate ratepayers.
So 2 on Your Side asked the Governor directly yesterday, "Who ultimately will pay for that work to upgrade those transmission lines - won't it be the ratepayers of the utilities?"
The Governor responded, "Also the companies as well. The companies are going to profit from this new energy source as well."
Reporter: "But what about ratepayers - residential ratepayers?"
Hochul: "We're having assistance for ratepayers. That's why if you look closely at my budget we already put in money now."
We asked further "We heard 3 to 16 percent increase in utility bills for ratepayers across the board - to be able to pay for those transmission lines - is that true or not?"
Hochul's reply was "Again the numbers are not clearly known right now because.."
Reporter: "It was approved Governor by the PSC?"
Hochul: "(We're) Not in that transition point right now and it doesn't consider the offset that I'm offering from the state government."
The Governor again says her budget plan includes assistance for ratepayers. But state lawmakers must still agree with the use of tax money for that purpose. Also PSC commissioners said in their meeting that so far there has been no funding from the legislature for these power line upgrades. That has been the case since the passage of the original 2019 bill and required planning for the PSC and utilities after similar 2020 legislation.
2 On Your Side requested more information from NYSEG and National Grid on what residential rates could actually be for customers
A NYSEG spokeswoman did not give specific rate information as yet but sent this statement: “The Companies agree with the Public Service Commission that these high voltage transmission projects will support the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and create good paying construction jobs across Upstate New York. In addition, although the NYPSC order references the total customer cost impacts, it does not quantify the benefits associated with creating pathways for renewable energy that could reduce supply costs, while supporting cleaner air and reduced reliance on fossil fuels. These critical projects are designed to provide our customers with excellent service, maintaining and modernizing the grid to improve reliability and resiliency, all while enabling the clean energy transition.”
She added that they may be available for an interview in the future.
A National Grid spokesman said they will try to provide more information after researching the PSC decision and order. He also said it was early in the process and suggested we could seek more clarification from the PSC staff.
He did say that regarding their power lines upgrades with this approval:
"All total, across upstate New York we’ll be rebuilding 104 miles of transmission line and addressing 16 substations.
Among those include these projects in western New York:
- Seven substation rebuilds or upgrades: four in Genesee County and three in Allegany County.
- Transmission line rebuilds or upgrades in Genesee and Chautauqua Counties