Did You Get That Utility Mailer from Your State Legislator?

Let’s Break It Down

A fact-check of the 46th Senate District utility legislation mailer

If you live in the 46th Senate District, you may have recently received a mailer with the bold headline: “Standing Up to Utility Corporations, Lowering Utility Costs.” It highlights several pieces of legislation described as “Critical Legislation to Lower Your Energy Bills & Keep Money in Your Pocket.”

We all want lower utility bills. So let’s take an honest look at what these bills actually do — and whether any of them would meaningfully change what you pay each month.

Bill #1: S1437 – Create New Utility Payment Plans to Improve Affordability

THE CLAIM:
Enacting this bill to create new payment plan options will improve affordability for eligible customers.

THE REALITY:
New York already has you covered here.

The Home Energy Fair Practices Act — passed back in 1981 — already guarantees every residential customer the right to negotiate a deferred payment agreement based on their ability to pay. In fact, current law treats bills as overdue after 23 days, which is more protective than the 21-day floor S1437 proposes.

It’s worth asking: What specific problem is this bill solving that existing law does not already address?

Bill #2: S1329 – Limit the “Fixed Charges” Customers Pay on Their Energy Bill

THE CLAIM:
Enacting this bill would limit the fixed charges on your energy bill and lower your costs.

THE REALITY:
S1329 does not mandate lower fixed charges.

There is no language in the bill requiring your fixed charge to be reduced, capped, or decreased by any specific amount. Instead, the bill redefines what costs utilities are permitted to recover through fixed charges, limiting them to metering, billing, service connections, and customer service.

Whether that produces a lower charge on your bill depends entirely on how the Public Service Commission interprets those four categories. The ambiguity is real. Nothing in the bill directs the PSC toward a narrower, more consumer-friendly reading.

Without explicit cost-allocation guidance or an independent audit requirement, a utility could simply reclassify its existing costs under one of the four permitted categories and arrive at the same fixed-charge number. The difference between a bill that genuinely lowers your fixed charge and one that merely relabels what is already there comes down entirely to PSC interpretation. This bill does not resolve that battle or lower your monthly cost.

Bill #3: S5593 – Provide Additional Time for Rate Case Resolutions to Protect Consumers

THE CLAIM:
Enacting this bill will protect customers during lengthy rate-case proceedings.

THE REALITY:
This bill brings attention to a real and documented problem.

Right now, even when a rate case drags on past its deadline, utilities are guaranteed to eventually collect every dollar they would have earned during the delay, no matter how long it takes. That guarantee, known as a “make-whole provision,” means utilities have little financial incentive to move quickly. S5593 caps that recovery on a declining scale, creating real pressure to resolve rate cases faster and eliminating unexpected catch-up charges that can spike your bill without warning.

But here’s what the mailer does not tell you: this bill will not lower your monthly utility bill. It has no effect on the size of rate increases the PSC approves or the total revenue utilities are allowed to collect. You may see a smoother, more predictable bill — but not a cheaper one.

The Bottom Line

These bills have some merit. Each identifies a real issue in how utilities operate and how customers are treated. But none of them will lower your monthly energy bill in any direct or guaranteed way.

Characterizing them as critical legislation to keep money in your pocket sets an expectation these bills simply cannot deliver on.

Real utility affordability requires tackling the rate structure itself — what utilities are allowed to earn, how those earnings are calculated, and who bears the cost. Until that changes, New Yorkers will keep opening their monthly bills and wondering why nothing ever seems to get better.

Have questions about utility legislation in New York? Share your thoughts and start the conversation: mchughforsenate@gmail.com