BINGHAMTON, NY — Representative Josh Riley (NY-19) brought together local residents, business owners, and policy experts for a roundtable on utility costs last Thursday. Riley discussed his work on utility affordability and his experience intervening in state utility rate cases to push back on unjustified increases, including the results of his investigation into Upstate utilities’ pricing practices.
During the conversation, Riley also heard directly from constituents who shared stories of how they’ve been impacted by high utility bills and probed policy experts on challenges and opportunities to bring down costs.
“Upstate New Yorkers deserve better than being treated like a cash cow for utility executives sitting in a boardroom halfway around the world. We’re tired of seeing the utility monopolies jack up our rates again and again, then ship our money to foreign parent corporations that don’t know – and don’t care – about what’s best for our communities,” said Riley. “Today, we heard from experts who understand this issue better than anyone and from Upstate New Yorkers who are living it every single day. I’m grateful to everyone who came out to participate in this important conversation and I’m excited to put their insights into action as I keep fighting to bring down utility costs and fix this broken system.”
In 2025, Riley launched an investigation into Upstate utilities’ pricing practices, demanding answers from providers and inviting residents to share their stories. Over the course of the investigation, he collected more than 5,000 survey responses from NYSEG customers, the vast majority of whom reported significant bill increases, billing frustrations, and a lack of accessible customer service. Specifically:
- 91% of respondents reported bill increases;
- 51% reported skipping groceries, medication, and other essentials to pay the bill;
- And 2 in 3 who reported a problem to their utility say it was never resolved.
You can find the full results of Riley’s investigation HERE.
Roundtable participants shared similar stories. Charlie Aiellio, a restaurant owner in Whitney Point, talked about how rising utility bills have forced him to increase menu prices and made it harder to give his employees raises.
“Now I’m at $6,000 a month. I remember it being around $2,500 a month. If you were a business and you raised your prices double, you would go out of business,” Aiello said about his restaurant’s utility bills. “How much squeezing can you do to businesses and to people? There’s going to be a breaking point.”
Scot Lueck, the Treasurer of the Gilbertsville Fire Department, noted that high NYSEG bills have strained the department’s budget – requiring them to cut spending on turnout gear, air tanks, and other lifesaving equipment.
“We used to pay as a seven-year average about $1,100 a year for electricity from NYSEG. The last two years that has jumped to almost $2,700 a year,” Lueck said. “We’re about to start replacing our SCBA harnesses… they’re about $12,000 a piece. And the guys will get disappointed if they’re using old gear and the guy from the other department has the updated 4,500 PSI tank on their back.”
Denise Blackwell, a social worker from Binghamton, discussed how she’s tried everything to limit her energy usage but is still facing sky-rocketing utility bills.
“I don’t have a ‘smart’ home, but I did upgrade with the hopes of this helping out with the electric bill. I got a smart stove, smart refrigerator – these are all energy savers – and my bill went up $729.31,” said Blackwell.
This event builds on Riley’s work to stand up to the utility monopolies on behalf of Upstate New Yorkers:
- February 13, 2025 — Introduced the Weatherization Enhancement and Readiness Act (H.R. 1355) to help families reduce energy usage and lower monthly utility bills
- September 18, 2025 — Introduced the Keep the Lights Local Act (H.R. 5487) to ban foreign corporations and governments from owning American utility companies
- December 10, 2025 — Introduced the No Bonuses for Utility Executives Act (H.R. 6590) to prohibit utility company executives from receiving bonuses when they raise rates faster than inflation.
- April 17, 2026 — Introduced the No Taxes on Utility Bills Act (H.R. 8350) to allow Upstate New Yorkers to to allow taxpayers to deduct taxes and state-mandated surcharges included on their gas and electric utility bills.
- April 29, 2026 — Introduced the Lowering Utility Bills Act (H.R. 8568) to crack down on utility companies overcharging customers.
- July 13, 2026 — Introduced the FAIR Data Act (H.R. 9655) to stop data center projects from driving up energy bills for Upstate New York families and small businesses.
- September 4, 2026 — Smart Meter Data Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 10284) to ban utility companies from selling Upstate New Yorkers’ private data and crack down on the misuse of personal information collected through smart meters.
- 2025–2026 — Served as an intervener in the Central Hudson and NYSEG rate cases, where he participated in proceedings and cross-examined utility companies on behalf of ratepayers.
You can download photos from the roundtable HERE.
###
