Mayor Still Mum on Electric Bill Hike in Village

Despite a public outcry from residents who've been slammed with a hefty hike in their electric bills, Greenport Village Mayor David Nyce still has not returned multiple requests for comment on the issue.

And, a week and two days after initial inquiries to the New York Power Authority, Patch has still not received a response to questions regarding the increase.

Greenport residents are outraged over electric bills they say have spiked even higher than expected.

Calling the increase "insane," residents have taken to social media to blast local officials and demand answers.

The bills, said Greenport resident Bill Swiskey, have gone up approximately 80 percent.

"The average bill almost doubled. This is not the $8-10 dollars the mayor forecast," he said.

The recent bill that was received by village residents, Swiskey said, reflected an uptick in the purchase power adjustment portion of the bill of about 80 percent.

Swiskey has asked Nyce if the rate hike was instituted "illegally."

Swiskey has reached out to the New York Power Authority for clarification.

He added that the village has not responded properly to village customer complaints.

Swiskey also demanded that NYPA provide an explanation for each charge stated on the NYPA bill to the village dated Oct. 15, "since the Village of Greenport is unable  to explain them."

Nyce promised village taxpayers that the increase it would cost the average residential customer no more the $7 to $10 dollars a month, Swiskey said.

"Well, in less than two months in, that cost is almost doubling the average energy charge portion of the average residential electric bill.  The only answer they can provide to my inquiry is, 'The bill is the bill.' I think that the village needs to provide a clear explanation of how this could happen. Every rate payer should withhold payment of this bill until that explanation is forthcoming."

Next, Swiskey said, the village posted a notice  at 4:15 p.m. the day before a special meeting to discuss a contract matter.

"This short notice technique is used in most instances to prevent any meaningful public participation. Mayor Nyce got the board to vote to approve some correspondence that he had with NYPA way back in August; the letter was not provided to the public as part of the agenda, as required under the open meetings law. We can only guess he was referring to the letter responsible for the huge spikes in electric bills lately," Swiskey said.

He added that the PPA charge "has everyone up in arms; it seems no one in the village can explain, they just finger point in a circular manner."

Village Clerk Sylvia Lazzari Pirilli, in response to a Freedom of Information Law request from Patch, provide a letter from NYPA explaining rates and charges, but the letter did not specifically address why the PPA charge on most bills was so much higher than anticipated.

Earlier this year, the increase on the electric bill had some seeing red.

A letter to residents was posted on the Greenport Village website. Dated August 14, 2013, the letter discussed a purchased power adjustment.

"The operations of the Village's electric department have not changed, and the base rates are remaining the same," the letter read. "However, certain long-term transmission contracts will expire on October 31, 2013. Similar contracts, used in the delivery of your purchased power, are more expensive. These contracts are necessary to protect the electric department's customers from the high transmission costs caused by the State's deregulated market for electricity."

The letter went on to say that beginning in August, 2013, the purchase power adjustment would increase in both residential and commercial bills for a 28-month period.

"In an effort to ease the impact on our ratepayers, the end result is a cost 'pass-through' with an expected average monthly billing increase for the next 28 months" of:

$7.75 to $10.69 per month for residential customers and

$25.12 to $39.77 per month for commercial customers.

The letter also stated that the village was continuing to work with the New York Power Authority to identify other options to help ease the burden on electric customers.

The letter had some calling for answers.

"On the average residential bill this amounts to a 10 to 15 percent increase in electric rates," Swiskey said. "What are the facts surrounding this move? At the minimum, there should have been a full-blown public notification and hearing to explain and answer questions. I don't believe posting it as small link on the village website meets that obligation. I think this increase should be delayed until these actions are taken."

Greenport village residents get their electricity, water and wastewater services from a facility on Moores Lane near the high school.

The next Greenport Village board meeting takes place Monday at 6 p.m. at the Third Street Firehouse.

What do you think of the electric bill increase? Share your thoughts with Patch.