NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) — New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced Jan. 10 that he is urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to be proactive in ensuring public utility companies do not harm consumers while receiving a major windfall. Schneiderman joins other attorneys general, as well as state agencies and consumer advocates, as part of a bipartisan coalition to defend consumers in this issue.
With the passage of the new federal tax law, which drops the corporate tax rate 14 percent from 35 to 21 percent, the coalition is concerned the current rates for federally regulated utilities may be unjustified. Companies involved in distributing these utilities include electric, natural gas and oil companies. The coalition sent a letter to FERC in which it urges the commission to examine the current rates.
“It’s unacceptable to create a huge windfall for utility companies at the expense of regular New Yorkers,” Schneiderman said. “Our bipartisan coalition is sending a clear message to FERC: act now to protect consumers and ensure customer bills are reduced in line with the massive tax cut corporations are receiving.”
Schneiderman is joined in the bipartisan coalition by the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia, as well as the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel, the Florida Office of Public Counsel, the Maine Office of the Public Advocate, the Nevada Bureau of Consumer Protection, the New Hampshire Office of the Consumer Advocate, the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers and the Vermont Department of Public Service.