Rochester Groups Call for Action on RG&E Rates, Shutoffs and Public Ownership
As Rochester-area residents grapple with rising utility costs, billing concerns and the threat of service shutoffs, two local organizations are calling for immediate state intervention while renewing a longer-term push to replace Rochester Gas & Electric with a publicly owned utility.
Civil rights organization F.I.G.H.T. and the Green Party of Monroe County will host a community conversation Saturday, Sept. 19, at noon at FIGHT Village, 186 Ward St. The meeting will include state Sen. Jeremy Cooney and community members and focus on utility affordability and possible legislative responses.
Howard Eagle of F.I.G.H.T. said rising utility costs have become part of what he described as an “affordability crisis” for Rochester residents.
“Many people don't have services right now, and it's probably gonna get worse,” Eagle told Minority Reporter.
Dave Sutliff-Atias of the Green Party of Monroe County said organizers are particularly concerned about what could happen as temperatures fall and heating needs increase.
“People's immediate needs right now” are the priority, Atias said, pointing to residents receiving unusually high bills and shutoff notices. “But once the cold weather hits, it's gonna just get exponentially worse.”
The organizations are putting forward three immediate proposals: adding $100 million to Monroe County's portion of the Home Energy Assistance Program, or HEAP; passing legislation imposing additional restrictions on utility shutoffs; and conducting a forensic audit of RG&E.
Eagle said Cooney has indicated he believes action on the proposals is possible but would need support from other lawmakers and the public.
“This is not just about complaints,” Eagle said. “What can the community do to help bring these things into reality?”
The meeting comes amid an ongoing state rate proceeding involving RG&E.
In June 2025, RG&E requested increases that would raise annual electric revenues by approximately $220.2 million and gas revenues by approximately $72.9 million.
According to the state Department of Public Service, the proposal represented a 19.8% increase in total electric revenues and a 17.1% increase in total gas revenues. RG&E estimated its proposal would increase the monthly bill of a typical residential electric customer using 600 kilowatt-hours by about $33, while a typical residential gas heating customer using 83 therms would pay nearly $19 more. Those figures represented RG&E's requested increases, not necessarily what customers would ultimately pay.
For organizers, however, the concern extends beyond rate increases to residents who are already struggling with their bills.
Atias said Saturday's discussion is intended to address both the current situation and what residents could face over the coming months.
“The main focus of Saturday's meeting is not just now, but in the next few months,” he said.
Eagle said organizers want state lawmakers to establish stricter requirements governing when utilities can shut off service and increase funding available to households struggling with energy costs.
F.I.G.H.T. and the Green Party are also calling for what Eagle described as a “forensic audit” of RG&E's finances.
Eagle said advocates want greater transparency surrounding RG&E's profits and believe a more detailed examination is necessary to determine whether customers are being charged fairly.
A forensic audit would be different from the comprehensive management and operations audit already conducted under the New York Public Service Commission.
That state-ordered audit, released in May 2025, resulted in 128 recommendations intended to improve NYSEG and RG&E operations and customer experiences. Among its findings, the independent auditor raised concerns about cost allocations involving parent company Avangrid and identified issues involving customer service, management and internal controls. RG&E and NYSEG disputed portions of the audit's findings and methodology.
Billing problems also remain part of the community's concerns. Eagle and Atias said residents continue to report unusually high or disputed bills.
While immediate relief will dominate Saturday's discussion, F.I.G.H.T. and the Green Party are also advocating for replacing RG&E with a publicly owned utility serving the City of Rochester.
The organizations say they have collected more than 1,200 petition signatures supporting the effort.
Atias said the public-utility campaign will represent only a small portion of Saturday's program, but organizers will have petitions available and provide information about how residents can become involved.
“It'll be action steps for people to take,” Atias said. “Hopefully folks can go out of there with a sense of hope that things are gonna change — and ready to help that change take place.”
Eagle said municipal ownership would be a long-term process, beginning with a feasibility study examining whether Rochester could acquire and successfully operate the local utility system.
The city previously committed $500,000 toward such a study in 2023, contingent upon Monroe County taking the lead. The county ultimately did not move forward with the study.
Eagle said advocates believe the city should now use that money to conduct its own feasibility study.
“Our position is, you need to use that money to have a feasibility study,” he said.
If a study determined municipal ownership was feasible, additional legal and governmental steps would be required before a public utility could be created.
For Atias, the public-power campaign also reflects broader Green Party principles involving local control, environmental sustainability and social justice.
“Having a public utility fits right in with our 10 key values in terms of people having control of their lives,” Atias said, including having greater control over where energy comes from.
He also sees affordability as an equity issue, particularly when residents receive bills they cannot reasonably afford.
“When someone gets a $1,000 bill, and it's mostly in the middle of the city, that's a social justice issue as well, not just economics,” Atias said.
Other members of Rochester's state Assembly and Senate delegation were invited to participate Saturday. According to organizers, Cooney was the only member of the local state delegation who had agreed to attend when the announcement was issued, although other elected officials may also be present.
For both Eagle and Atias, the objective is to move residents beyond frustration with RG&E and toward specific actions they can take — both to address immediate affordability concerns and to shape the future of Rochester's utility system.
Comments