If you've been paying more for your utility bills as of late, you are not alone and it could still go up.
Local utility company Orange & Rockland proposed increased rates for its electric and gas delivery services. It would increase the company's electric revenue by $24.5 million and gas by almost $10 million.
Senator James Skoufis spoke out against the proposal and called for rates to not increase at all.
"We’re here today to call on Orange & Rockland to read the writing on the wall: struggling Hudson Valley ratepayers can’t tolerate these surging bills and they shouldn’t be asked to bear an even larger financial burden," Skoufis said in a statement. "O&R must rescind its rate case immediately to ensure residents and small business owners won’t be asked to choose between keeping the lights on and feeding their families."
"Our constituents are being squeezed by energy costs at every turn and New York State needs to step in everywhere we can," Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick said in a statement. "Utility companies have a monopoly on electric and gas delivery. We are calling on O&R to reconsider imposing any rate hikes in this moment of unprecedented energy costs."