NY Approves Utilities Hike for Pipeline Project

New York has approved price hikes on roughly 2 million National Grid customers as the utilities company looks for funds for the $129 million spent in construction on a 7-mile pipeline in Northern Brooklyn.

In a statement to Hamodia, a spokesperson for Nation Grid said, “the Public Service Commission’s approval of the joint settlement on National Grid’s three-year investment plan will allow us to prioritize energy affordability while investing in programs necessary to maintain the safety and reliability of our natural gas networks and implement new programs to accelerate the transition to a cleaner energy future.”

The state’s regulatory panel Public Service Commission (PSC) voted to approve the rate hike that have some customers in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island charged around $66 more every year for the next three years. About 1.2 million customers will see an increase of 3.8% in the second year and 3.3% in the third year, lower than the company initially planned.

“The joint proposal provides sufficient funding for the companies to maintain safe and reliable service while moderating rate impacts during the term of the rate plan,” said John B. Howard, chair of the PSC.

The Natural Gas Reliability Project will still be expected to abide by the state’s environmental rules and eventually stop marketing natural gas.

“The goal is to have the utility sell less gas in the future, a clear-cut indication of what will happen at other gas utilities in New York as the [Climate Leadership and Protection Act] requirements take effect,” the commission said in a release.

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smarcus@hamodia.com