Catskill Town Hall On Replacing Central Hudson With a Publicly Owned Nonprofit Utility

CATSKILL - Hudson Valley for Public Power, a coalition of organizations coming together to pass state legislation that would replace Central Hudson with a publicly-owned and not-for-profit corporation, is holding a town hall at the Catskill Community Theatre at 6:00 p. m. on Thursday, June 11th. State Assemblymember Shrestha and State Senator Hinchey will join to discuss the details of the legislation they have introduced, the Hudson Valley Power Authority Act (A02127; S02026), and the organizers of this campaign will also present on the path to victory on passing and enacting this bill that would a model utility not only the rest of the state, but the rest of the country.

Members of the public can register for free to attend this event at this link:

https://actionnetwork.org/events/catskill-town-hall/

Last year, the HVPP coalition released a feasibility study showing that the HVPA would save over $15 million in year one, as reported in the New York Times, and would cumulatively save ratepayers nearly $3 billion by year 30.

Currently, over 2 million New Yorkers are considered utility burdened, paying over 6% of their household income on utilities. In the Hudson Valley, the proportion is much higher, with roughly 1 in 4 residents considered energy burdened.

Meanwhile, Central Hudson, a private corporation owned by the Canadian holding company Fortis, Inc., recently finalized a 3-year rate case settlement with the state that approved $2.8 million in executive bonuses while raising rates by an average of 5.41% annually for electricity and an average of 8.24% annually for natural gas.

Utilities like Central Hudson are corporate monopolies that are allowed to pass 100% of their costs and profit obligations to customers, says Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, and the more they invest in expensive capital projects, the more profits they can make for their shareholders.

This means that instead of investing in cost-savings and what the public needs, they over-invest in capital to maximize profits. The most obvious solution here is to remove the shareholders from the picture altogether.

Our energy sector should not serve as an investment vehicle for those looking to turn a profit, it should serve as a public good designed to elevate the quality of our lives.

The only way to get us a 21st century grid that also saves money, protects workers, and provides accountability and transparency is a publicly-owned one, but public ownership is not the end, it's the means to achieve these goals, which is what our bill, the Hudson Valley Power Authority Act, is designed to do.

By taking over Central Hudson and replacing it with a model utility, the goal is to demonstrate for the rest of the state what all energy utilities should look like.

The Hudson Valley Power Authority Act is driven by local residents across our communities who need lower utility bills, reliable service and transparency from a system that has prioritized shareholder profits over ratepayers for far too long,” says Senator Michelle Hinchey, Problems with Central Hudson are still one of the top concerns we hear from constituents on a daily basis, and the company keeps pursuing rate hikes while our seniors, families and small businesses struggle with rising costs.

The HVPA is a model that would put ratepayers first. It would deliver more affordable and reliable energy, accurate and transparent billing, and a stronger commitment to clean energy that can help stabilize and reduce costs over the long term. This is the kind of system ratepayers deserve. Hudson Valley for Public Power is a coalition of organizations coming together to pass the Hudson Valley Power Authority Act to replace Central Hudson with a publicly-owned not-for-profit corporation. Learn more at hudsonvalleypowerauthority.com