The company that bought out our local electric & gas supplier New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) about a year ago (Iberdrola), agreed as part of the deal to not request a rate increase for a year. They lied. Their first request came in January, just four months after the purchase (Albany Times-Union story). The Public Service Commission told them to stuff it. Now it’s been a full year and they’re back, almost to the day, with their hands out. From the Press & Sun-Bulletin (NYSEG asks for double-digit rate increases):

When Iberdrola SA of Spain bought New York State Electric and Gas Corp. one year ago this month, it agreed to no rate increases for a year. That year is up, and the utility companies is asking for state approval for increases in electricity and natural gas rates that could cost area households $453 a year.

Under the proposals, the average NYSEG residential electric bill would go up $12.39, or 18.6 percent a month, while natural gas would go up $25.34, or 17.4 percent.

To be fair, it seems that NYSEG has not raised rates (although they’ve repeatedly tried) since the mid-1990s. At least according to the P&SB story. Funny thing though, my electric and gas bills have been steadily climbing over that period of time. I’ve been a NYSEG customer since the mid-1990s and before. I can’t categorically prove it, but I heavily suspect rates have gone up during that time–which wouldn’t surprise me…that the P&SB gets it wrong again and does not fact check a story.

The main reason our esteemed governor, David Paterson, and the New York State legislature approved the sale to Iberdrola is because Iberdrola is supposed to invest $2 billion in wind farms in New York. Yeah right. When pigs fly. Aren’t you glad in our day and age that empty platitudes are an acceptable substitute for keeping one’s word? Here’s an idea: Forget spending $2B on wind farms and give the rate payers a rate CUT for the next 25 years!

Of course, if Congress passes the cap & tax climate change legislation as they so deeply desire to do, these kinds of increases will seem like chump change because your gas & electric rates will go up 100% (see the excellent analysis of the proposed climate change legislation by the Heritage Foundation). But it won’t happen all at once. The sleezes in Congress will push the full effects of this insidious legislation out so the biggest bite won’t happen until starting around 2025–and then, watch out (see chart for what happens to rates in New York; and here for other states). In New York, electric rates will nearly double by the time we hit 2035.

Technorati Tags: Iberdrola, NYSEG, gas & electric rates, New York Public Service Commission, Waxman-Markey, climate change, Gov. David Paterson, New York State legislature