NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) — At a meeting to discuss a proposed electricity rate hike for the New York City area in June, Kisha Skipper approached the podium with a portable oxygen concentrator and her 10-year-old son in tow.
“I don’t have to tell you how astronomical my bill already is, and I can’t decide on whether to feed my child or even to buy stationery for school supplies or to pay my own medicine bill,” said Skipper, who uses power to run her oxygen machine after coming down with pneumonia from Covid-19 five years ago.
Skipper was one of dozens of people who attended the hearing in Yonkers, intended to gather public input on Consolidated Edison Inc.’s plan to raise electric bills by more than 11% starting next January and gas charges by more than 10%. ConEd’s proposal has drawn sharp criticism from officials including Governor Kathy Hochul as politicians face pressure to tame rising consumer costs.
Mounting anger over power bills comes as Americans grapple with stubbornly high inflation. Electricity costs nationally have risen 5.8% over the past year, more than double the gains for the broader consumer price index. The boom in artificial intelligence is adding to that increase as power demand from data centers surges, prompting some utility executives to warn of consumer backlash…