Speak Out in Opposition to National Grid's Rate Hike Proposal!

National Grid customers: Speak up now or pay more later!

National Grid has asked the NYS Public Service Commission (PSC) for big increases in your electric and gas delivery rates: 17.5% for electric and 20.5% for natural gas. This translates to an increase of over $200 per year for the average residential electric and gas customer.

In addition to this $331 million rate increase proposal, National Grid wants to spend close to a billion dollars in ratepayers’ money to replace everybody's meters with "smart meters." Inexplicably, they're proposing this costly smart meter roll-out before even completing a pilot program to establish how much value these meters would actually offer for ratepayers.

The bottom line is that this massive rate hike would hit upstate ratepayers hard. Please take a moment to tell the PSC to stand up for consumers and reject the rate hike.

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Please say no to the National Grid Rate Hikes (cases 17-E-0238 and 17-G-0239)

Dear [Decision Maker],

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Please stand up for ratepayers like me and reject National Grid's huge proposed increases to my gas and electric delivery bills. With the cost of so many essentials like prescription drugs and groceries rising, this double digit increase would really hurt me and a lot of other National Grid customers - especially those living on fixed or limited incomes.

I request that the Public Service Commission not only reject this increase, but also use this as an opportunity to look at ways to reduce the burden on ratepayers. For example, the high fixed customer service charge and seemingly endless surcharges that show up on my utility bill are out of control. The fixed customer charge should be reduced, and as many surcharges as possible should be reined in or eliminated entirely.

In addition, this proposal calls for things like new "smart" meters for everyone. My current meter works just fine. These new smart meters may benefit the company, but all they'll do for me is cost me more money. So why should I as a ratepayer be footing the bill for that?

Ratepayers need a break, not another increase in their utility bill. Please reject National Grid's gas and electric rate hike proposals, and look at ways to reduce my utility bill - not increase it.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]