Members of the Rochester City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved funding to study the possibility of the city cutting ties with Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. and forming a municipal utility.
The vote, which took place during a meeting of the Council, follows months of pressure from public power advocates and residents.
RG&E serves as the power supplier for much of the Rochester area and has been widely criticized for erratic billing and proposed rate hikes. Last week, RG&E proposed an increase that would raise electric rates by 16% and natural gas by 10.9% over the course of three years.
Council President Miguel Melendez introduced the measure as a “statement of necessity,” an expedited legislative process that allows last-minute proposals to be brought before the Council.
The bill, drafted by Melendez and Mayor Malik Evans, allocates $500,000 to a feasibility study, and would authorize City Council to partner with all other governments under RG&E's footprint, including Monroe County. The study would be funded through the current year's budget.
The legislation specifies that while the city will offer a portion of funding for the study, the city believes the state or county should be the leading bodies on getting the study done.
Councilmember Stanley Martin, a vocal critic of RG&E’s practices, said studying the feasibility of the city breaking away from RG&E is more important now than ever, citing an ongoing state investigation by the state attorney general into what she called the utility’s “egregious mischarging of customer’s bills.” Some customers have seen bills in the thousands of dollars.
"I'm so excited to be supporting this very socialist, person-centered legislation today," Martin said.
Funding a study with city tax dollars is a heel-turn for the Evans administration and the City Council. In March, Evans and the Council publicly called for the state Public Service Commission to fund such a study, at a cost of $500,000.
The advocacy group Metro Justice has rallied for months in support of a study and the creation of a public utility.
“It’s important that City Council is following up on its commitment to investigate (a public utility),” said Metro Justice spokesperson Michelle Wenderlich. “The community wants an alternative to the multinational corporate mismanagement of RG&E.”
RG&E is a subsidiary of Spain-based Avangrid, which also operates New York State Energy and Gas.
The Council meeting was flooded with members of Metro Justice, who celebrated the vote.
Kinra Johnson, a volunteer with the organization, said the vote was the first step. The next, she said, would be to turn to the Monroe County Legislature to get on board and offer financial support.
