CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

Members of New York's Public Service Commission (PSC) were in town to get feedback about rate increases that could amount, on average, to $11 dollars a month for electric, to $21 dollars a month for gas.

Many people, like Trudy Harper, spoke out against the hike on the behalf of the Monroe County Workers Benefit Council. That organization represents low-income service workers, the unemployed and the disabled.

"Low-paid and under-employed people are the ones who must make the deadly choice every winter between heating and eating, or face death because of heat stroke and heart failure, because we cannot afford to run a fan or the air conditioning because of the cost. I'm here to say that it is unconscionable for the PSC to grant any additional increase in utility rates."

RG&E and NYSEG were both recently purchased by Iberdrola, a Spanish company. As a condition of that purchase, the utilities were barred from asking for rate hikes for one year after the sale, but last year requested an increase regardless, citing the economic crisis.

The PSC denied that increase, and the utilities again asked for a rate hike after the year-long ban had passed.

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