NYSEG is pursuing legal action against U.S. Rep. Josh Riley, NY-19, following public statements he made ahead of a rate case hearing.
NYSEG has proposed an increase of its electric delivery revenues by about $464.4 million and its natural gas delivery revenues by about $93 million, according to Daily Star archives. This would impact customers differently depending on revenue allocation and rate design.
The proposed rate increase has drawn backlash from political leaders on both sides of the aisle and members of the local community.
In a Feb. 12 Facebook post, Riley said NYSEG was sending “hundreds of millions of dollars” to Spain, adding that “Iberdrola is basically laundering money out of our community to boost its own profits.”
NYSEG’s parent company, Avangrid, is a subsidiary of the Spanish multinational utility company Iberdrola.
Riley made his statement ahead of the Feb. 18 Public Service Commission hearing on the rate case.
Riley said Monday March 2 that when NYSEG filed the rate case with the Public Service Commission, he entered the case as a party, so that he could represent the people in his district at the hearing.
He said he went to the Feb. 18 hearing to cross examine NYSEG executives. At about 10 p.m., the night before the hearing, his team received a letter from NYSEG stating that Riley’s accusations were false.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the night before I was going to cross examine their CEO, they decided to pull this stunt,” Riley said.
He additionally was served a cease-and-desist letter in person before the hearing.
A statement from NYSEG, provided by NYSEG spokesperson Max Weissman Monday, asserted that company profits are not sent overseas. It added that from 2015 to 2024, Avangrid “provided more than $990 million back to NYSEG to invest in our system and rebuild our grid.”
“These investments are critical to reducing outages, increasing capacity, and attracting new businesses and jobs throughout the state and in his district,” NYSEG stated.
Riley responded Monday, saying NYSEG’s response was “cherry picking” and does not represent the entire picture.
He said that from 2010 to 2025, NYSEG has sent $1.6 billion more to Iberdrola in Spain than it has gotten back. Riley added that NYSEG sent a $450 million dividend to Spain in February 2025.
Riley said it was important to him to keep advocating against the rate hikes because “it’s important to the folks I represent.” He said he recently spoke with a small business owner on the verge of closing because utility bills were so high.
“I talk to seniors who … work their entire lives, and all they want to do is spend time with their grandkids, and now they have to pick up a job because the utility bills are so high,” Riley said.
NYSEG, in response to Riley’s comments, stated that “Riley has once again chosen repeated lies over facts in order to grab a quick headline and social media hits.”
“We urge the Congressman to use his position as an elected official to address the real drivers of high bills, including skyrocketing natural gas supply prices that have gone up 100% over the last five years without oversight and which we do not profit from, and to work with state level officials to revisit political mandates that add significantly to energy bills,” NYSEG continued.