Report: New Yorkers Funded Central Hudson Push For Higher Bills

A new report from AARP New York is shining a harsh light on something many Hudson Valley residents suspected.

AARP released a shocking report involving rate hikes by Central Hudson Gas and Utility Company.

AARP Releases Report On Central Hudson Rate Hikes

Central Hudson Facebook/Canva

According to the report, customers are being forced to pay for the company’s own legal defense, specifically, the lawyers and consultants Central Hudson uses to argue for higher energy bills.

AARP says Hudson Valley residents paid about $4 million over the past four years to pay for the utility's defense of raising gas and electricity rates for four consecutive years.

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In other words, customers paid for the professionals Central Hudson hired to convince the state to approve higher bills, and then paid those higher bills too!

Central Hudson, Facebook

Under the law, Central Hudson is legally allowed to do this.

"Central Hudson is deeply committed to running our business as efficiently as possible to minimize financial impacts to our customers,” a Central Hudson spokesperson said in a statement. “The $4 million figure outlined by AARP supports the costs associated with Central Hudson’s last two rate cases, not just the three-year settlement reached in 2025. These costs extend beyond legal fees and include communications and other activities that are required by our regulators in every rate case proceeding. We will continue to do everything we can to examine every dollar we spend to ensure we are acting in the best interests of our customers."

Between 2022 and 2026, Central Hudson implemented several major price increases, culminating in a three-year rate plan approved in August 2025. Over the next three
years, typical combined bills are projected to increase by nearly $50 per month.

Bhunter/tsm

Proposed Changes Could Affect Every New Yorker

Based on these findings, AARP is pushing for several new laws to be passed in New York. One proposal would create an Independent Utility Advocate, a new state office tasked with representing residential customers during rate cases.

Another would review and potentially block utilities from using ratepayer money to pay for legal expenses tied to rate increase requests. AARP is also calling for automatic bill credits when utilities earn more than the Public Service Commission allows, rather than letting those extra profits remain with the company.

The group is also backing Governor Kathy Hochul’s push to require utility CEOs to publicly disclose their salaries compared to the pay of average workers.

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