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Advocates press senators to reform rate‑case process, seek intervener funding and end secret settlements
Summary
Consumer and environmental advocates told the Senate joint energy committee that confidential settlement negotiations and compressed timelines limit public oversight, raise fairness concerns, and can mask costs passed to ratepayers. Groups urged statute changes to add an independent utility consumer advocate, intervener funding, and clearer CLCPA
A coalition of consumer, environmental and community groups told a New York Senate joint committee that the current utility rate‑case process is opaque, favors utilities and leaves low‑resource intervenors at a disadvantage. Witnesses from the Public Utility Law Project (PULP), Fossil Free Tompkins, AARP, Earthjustice, the Energy Justice Law and Policy Center and others described repeated problems with confidentiality in settlement negotiations, late filings and barriers to meaningful participation. Lori Wheelock, executive director of PULP, told the committee the mix of litigated and settlement tracks in rate cases creates a structural incentive for outcomes settled behind closed doors. She recommended a statutory review of the rate‑case regime, more transparent rules for settlements, an office…
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