The Partial Observer by Maureen Dill

NYSEG Customers Facing Severe Financial Crises as Utility Costs Soar

In recent months, social media and Internet communications have been awash with New York State Electric and Gas customer concerns regarding unanticipated, exorbitant charges for utility services, essential services that many or most of our area’s consumers can ill afford. At the same time, the Internet is rife with misinformation and deliberate disinformation concerning this growing threat, coupled with concerted efforts to lay blame for this crisis on either one political party or the other. Homeowners and renters, including retired and low-income families, will be unable to meet the demands of exploding utility expenses, with some forced to choose between paying their mortgage or rent, feeding their families, or, if necessary, relocating.

In the United States, NYSEG is owned by Avangrid, while Avangrid is owned by Iberdrola in Spain. One of the largest investors in Iberdrola is the Qatar Investment Authority, representing an oil- and gas-rich Arab emirate bordering on Saudi Arabia. NYSEG’s executives confirmed under oath in February 2026 that they had authorized a $450 million dividend payment to Iberdrola, while at the same time announcing they are planning a rate hike of over $500 million for many Upstate New York utility customers. 

In the press, New York State elected officials are quoted as having said that NYSEG has ripped hundreds of millions out of our communities to line the pockets of its foreign parent company in Spain. In 2024, Iberdrola reported an approximate net profit of $5.85 million, a 17 percent increase over 2023. Iberdrola Chairman Ignacio Sanchez Galan recently told shareholders that Iberdrola’s American-based utility subsidiaries serve as an “unprecedented investment opportunity” that drives growth and improves profitability for its investors.

The New York State Public Service Commission is nearing a decision on rate increases of 35 percent. Hearings were held, with elected members for both political parties in attendance. Although the PSC hearings offered remote hearings, administrative law judges banned remote viewing.

For reasons that are more than obvious, some of the online complaints regarding these significant increases in utility costs are being touted as problems driven by members of one political party or the other. We consumers must not allow ourselves to be divided and drawn into politically-driven agendas or partisan narratives. Regardless of this, if anyone looks more closely at today’s crisis, it’s easy to see that leaders in both political parties are currently working toward the same end: relief for NYSEG consumers. An assemblyman in New York State has introduced the “LOWER” bill to gain control of NYSEG’s unbridled energy charges to consumers here. A U.S. congressman has introduced a bill (“Keep the Lights Local“) to ban foreign corporations and foreign governments from owning American utility companies—and Congress needs to pass it!   

The assemblyman said that “having the PSC making expensive mandates and responsible for approving rate increases is a bad combination.” NYSEG Director Shelby Cohen explained that this heating season has seen unprecedented “Supply” charges from unregulated energy generators at a time when customers are using more energy due to cold temperatures. Cohen said that supply prices, not regulated like NYSEG’s “Delivery” charges, have doubled since 2020, far outpacing inflation.

We have listened to NYSEG repeatedly whine about the need to improve its aging and maxed-out substations, its 40-year-old wooden poles that must be replaced, along with thousands of miles of wire, and it begs the question: What has this utility been doing with the proceeds gleaned from thousands of consumers over these many years? Where and how were their profits applied? Has anyone given consideration to applying for a federal grant in order to effect these improvements to this essential infrastructure?

In addition to exploring any available funding opportunities—state, federal and private—it is prudent to launch an investigation into NYSEG’s possible mismanagement of its profits through these many years.  Under current FCC regulations, utilities are excluded from its rules governing monopolies. Therefore, is oversight of these utilities also not performed? As of 2024, NYSEG payments in arrears totaled $103 million. When company account balances remain unpaid, NYSEG recoups those costs from all customers.

It goes without saying that, party loyalties or affiliations aside, we must all come together to put an end to this unprecedented assault against utility consumers in New York State.

Maureen Dill is a retired social worker and former disaster preparedness and response planner, having served as human services and emergency services director for two international nonprofit charitable organizations.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT NECESSARILY THE VIEW OF ALLOTSEGO AND ITS AFFILIATES.