AARP Urges Griffo To Push For Consumer Watchdog [AUDIO]

AARP believes consumers should have their own voice to fight for fair electricity rates.

Association members delivered about 500 postcards from constituents to the Utica office of Senator Joseph Griffo today

They're asking Griffo to use his position as Chairman of the Senate Energy Committee to push for an independent consumer advocate as part of this year's state budget.

Charlene Lojewski of New Hartford, who is the local chapter president of AARP, says New York is one of just ten states without a consumer advocate.

Connecticut's office reported $243 in rate reductions for every dollar spent in 20132

AARP says residential National Grid customers in the Mohawk Valley pay about 21% above the national average.

Senator Griffo issued the following statement in response to the AARP rally

We are sensitive to the struggle of those consumers who are worried about rising utility rates, and we are going to keep doing our best to keep rates down for all of our residents.

We’ve been listening to various groups and ideas that have been presented so far as we try to find the best approach to provide a voice for ratepayers. But a number of state and federal entities, consumer protection agency positions and private organizations already exist to act on behalf of ratepayers, so we want to examine those established entities first to make sure they are being used effectively and efficiently.

The last thing we want to do is add a new level of bureaucracy with questionable accountability that doesn’t help anybody, but which could instead burden consumers with new costs.