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A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC. Gothamist Listen Live Donate News National Grid seeks to freeze rates, but watchdogs say the move is a hike in disguise By Rosemary Misdary Published Aug 15, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. ET
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National Grid says its recent request to freeze its rates for one year is rooted in addressing affordability for nearly 2 million customers in New York City and Long Island. Advocates, however, say the utility is finding a sneaky way to pass costs along to New Yorkers.
The company, which is the state’s largest natural gas provider, proposed to the Public Service Commission in May a plan to keep its rates stable through March 2028. The move was unusual because utility firms typically ask for rate increases through a public process to pay for expenditures such as new infrastructure and taxes.
The proposal included a request for National Grid to recoup property taxes and money spent maintaining its sites after the freeze expires in April 2028. The utility projected that it would make roughly $1.7 billion in capital investments during the freeze that it would seek to recover from customers after the rate freeze concludes.
Watchdogs, however, say the company is seeking to raise its rates without going through the typical rate case process.
”National Grid’s proposal to the Public Service Commission is a masked rate hike,” said Kim Fraczek, director of Sane Energy Project. “They're just basically kicking the can down the road, and they're going to then be building a bunch of stuff without our public input or scrutiny, and they will then come back next year and charge us for all of that infrastructure that they built this year.”
The company said it made the request with affordability in mind.
“With so many households and businesses across New York City and Long Island facing the pressures of inflation and a rising cost of living, we identified an opportunity to provide meaningful financial relief for our customers by freezing our gas delivery rates until 2028,” Sally Librera, president of National Grid New York, said in a statement. “Coming off a harsh winter that brought record demand for gas, this proposal directly addresses affordability while ensuring our dedicated employees continue to deliver the safe, reliable energy that heats homes and powers businesses — especially during periods of extreme weather.”
The utility's previous rate hike was approved in 2024, spreading rate increases over three years, resulting in average overall increases of more than 20% on gas bills, according to National Grid.
In a typical rate increase case, the Department of Public Service, the public and stakeholders have the opportunity to ask questions and get details on what the utility company is planning to use the ratepayer money for and how that will impact bills. The process can result in back-and-forth negotiations, public hearings, testimony and comments that can last up to a year. Advocates said National Grid’s latest request sidesteps that process.
”They want approval of a huge gas infrastructure investment budget, and then defer the collection for some of those costs until later,” said Jessica Azulay, executive director for Alliance for a Green Economy. “So later the bills would go up to pay for that, and normally this type of request would go through a long rate case process.”
The Public Service Commission told Gothamist that National Grid’s request is currently under review and the bid to recover future expenses is subject to caps and limitations.
Members of the public can comment on the proposal through Aug. 24. The public and stakeholders can submit comments on the commission’s site . If the Public Service Commission approves the rate freeze proposal, gas delivery rates would remain the same until the end of March 2028.
National Grid’s proposal to keep rates steady was hailed by Gov. Kathy Hochul as a major win for affordability and praised the agreement.
"The governor has been clear that utility companies should be providing relief to customers by delaying any plans for rate increases,” said Ken Lovett, a spokesperson for Hochul. “The governor remains focused on keeping the lights on and costs down for New Yorkers and believes utility companies need to be doing the same."
Rosemary is health & science reporter. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-544-9524.
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