Our Time in the Hudson Valley

After meeting with Congressman Pat Ryan, our team visited the Hudson Valley to learn more about how Central Hudson Utility triggered a cost-of-living crisis for thousands of customers due to a billing scandal, and to cover the response of locals calling for a new vision for their electric grid. 

Customers we met were facing bills upwards of $1,500 dollars / month after having bills less than $100 / month for years. Not only did they face enormous costs that Central Hudson was unwilling to address, but Central Hudson doubled down and fought to damage the credit scores of their customers when the obvious problems lied in their billing system. These experiences mirrored that of hundreds to thousands of Central Hudson customers and show why we need a better model for running our grid. The human costs of utility corruption are real, and the path forward is energy democracy.

 That’s why our film crew spoke with County Executive, Jen Metzger, who founded Citizens for Local Power to fight the takeover of Central Hudson by a huge foreign company: Fortis. Jen shared how our corrupt utility system hamstrings effective climate action and discourages utilities from providing high-quality delivery of the life-of-death service of electricity.

Jen Metzger’s actions taking on Fortis helped lay the foundation for today’s movement to hold Central Hudson accountable: the Hudson Valley Power Authority Act. Our final interviews were with the two co-sponsors of the Act, State Representative Sarahana Shrestha and State Senator Michelle Hinchey.

Representative Shrestha, a climate organizer turned legislator, shared how a democratic vision for the electric grid offers a path to a more affordable, healthier, and prosperous future for ordinary residents and the planet. Senator Hinchey shared an inspiring vision for how this vision can be made a reality, and how the fight for public power is at the heart of tackling today’s affordability crisis. The key is taking on our utility system.