Regulators Approve ANOTHER Rate Hike for National Fuel As Company Attempts to Block Bill To Lower Energy Costs

BUFFALO, NY (12/19/2024) (readMedia)-- Today, the Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a request from National Fuel Gas to dramatically increase gas delivery rates and force Western New York families to pay 18% more for the gas delivery charges on their bills. While raising prices, National Fuel Gas - which is a fracking company in addition to a gas utility - has fought hard to block passage of the NY HEAT Act, which would stop utilities from continuing to raise energy costs and expand gas pipelines on New Yorkers' dime. Governor Hochul promised to prioritize affordability - now she needs to step up and pass the NY HEAT Act to put working New Yorkers first!

"At nearly every opportunity, National Fuel raises prices and forces New Yorkers to pay even more for heat that's already too expensive - and regulators are doing almost nothing to stop them," said Clarke Gocker, Sr. Director of Movement Building at PUSH Buffalo. "Governor Hochul promised she would prioritize affordability and protect New Yorkers, but her one-time checks won't cut it if the state fails to use its authority to stop rate hikes and other cost increases! We need Hochul and the Assembly to stand up to price-gouging companies like National Fuel and pass the NY HEAT Act so that struggling families can afford to heat their homes. We got close to passing the bill last year despite National Fuel's heavy spending, and now we need the Governor to finish the job by putting it in her budget!"

"National Fuel is taking advantage of everyday people like me and forcing us to pay for their mismanaged and outdated business. I have never received an 18% increase in income or in anything in my whole life. My energy bills should not be my first," said Sonya Rice, City of Buffalo resident and reluctant National Fuel Gas customer.

As of September 2024, approximately 1 in 7 households in New York was two months or more behind on their energy bills and more than 1.2 million families collectively owed more than $1.3 billion dollars to utility companies. In Western New York, as of August 2024, over 54,000 National Fuel customers were in arrears and facing the threat of service shut-offs.

The NY HEAT Act, which would help control future gas rate hikes, will provide critical relief for Western NY residents and New Yorkers statewide. The bill would save 1 in 4 families who can't afford their bills statewide up to $136/month on average, and in Buffalo and Erie County the NY HEAT Act could cut bills in half for the 24% of families who need relief most.

Background

Last week, Buffalo residents and advocates rallied outside National Fuel's corporate headquarters to protest the company's proposed rate hike and demand lawmakers pass the NY HEAT Act this session. The bill, which passed in the NYS Senate last year, would begin New York's transition off the outdated, expensive fracked gas system and limit the amount families have to pay for energy relative to their income, saving low- and middle-income families hundreds each month.

As more and more households transition off the gas system in favor of renewable heating and cooling alternatives in the coming years, National Fuel Gas' continued investments in gas infrastructure will be increasingly expensive to maintain. Those higher costs will disproportionately impact poor and working class households stuck on the gas system and already show up in the proposal under consideration. Fixed customer costs would increase from $15.54 to $22.50 over the next three years alone if the PSC approves this rate hike. Meanwhile, as of August 2024, over 54,000 National Fuel customers were in arrears and facing the threat of service shut-offs. The current proposal also calls for an excessive return on equity - 9.7% - that would boost the utility's profits and further enrich private investors. From 2021 to 2023, National Fuel raked in over $1.4 billion in profit and paid out over $500 million in dividends to shareholders at a lower rate of return on equity.

National Fuel Gas has continued to spend big to protect its profits and block legislation that would help struggling New Yorkers and prevent catastrophic climate change. Despite initial opposition from utilities statewide, National Fuel Gas is the only remaining utility provider to actively lobby against the NY HEAT Act and was caught spending ratepayer money to advocate against the All-Electric Building Act and the NY HEAT Act - policies that are in ratepayers' best interests. National Fuel has also used ratepayer dollars to ask customers to lobby in favor of their long term gas plan, which is designed to keep their customers hooked on gas despite New York's Climate Law requiring a transition off fossil fuels.

NFG has also helped set up a front group with other major fossil fuel companies called "New Yorkers for Affordable Energy" to spread misinformation about New York's climate policies. The President of National Fuel Gas recently served as the chairperson of the Business Council of New York State, which announced in October 2023 a $1 million ad campaign urging Governor Hochul to roll back New York's nation-leading climate law.