Josh Riley Leads Bipartisan Effort to Stop Utility CEOs From Cashing In on Rate Hikes

As working families across Upstate New York continue to feel the strain of rising electric bills, companies like Fortis and Avangrid not only pleaded for higher rates but paid their CEOs more than $10 million — all while Upstaters struggled to keep up with skyrocketing monthly costs.

Read more on the Congressman’s efforts:

• Congressmen Josh Riley (D, NY-19) and Jeff Van Drew (R- NJ-02) have introduced bipartisan legislation that would prohibit utility company executives from receiving bonuses whenever they raise rates faster than inflation.
• The No Bonuses for Utility Executives Act would stop bonuses when utilities raise rates faster than inflation; would cap bonuses in years when rates stay stable; would enforce the rules with real oversight and penalties; and would apply to foreign-owned, state-regulated electric utilities.
• “Upstate New Yorkers are getting crushed by high utility bills,” said Riley. “Foks are cutting back on everything from groceries to school clothes just to keep the lights on. Meanwhile, the utility monopolies are rewarding their CEOs with millions of dollars per year. When the people footing the bill get squeezed and the folks at the top walk off with massive bonuses, something’s seriously broken – and I’m fighting to fix it.”
• He said his legislation would stop utility monopolies from “rewarding the corporate executives who are ripping us off.”

• Congressman Josh Riley has introduced legislation aimed at reducing high utility bills and limiting bonuses for utility executives, called the “No Bonuses for Utility Executives Act.”
• “The more we get crushed, the more they get rich, and the whole thing’s got to stop,” says Riley. “So, my legislation says no more bonuses for corporate executives if they’re going to jack up the utility prices. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
• Riley highlights that the idea behind the legislation is to help combat the rising energy costs. “We need to focus on lowering the cost, not raising them, raising the wages for the workers, and actually fixing the grid instead of taking all of that money and shoving it in the pockets of a bunch of corporate executives and politicians,” he says.

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