Local AARP Members Lobby For Utility Watchdog

Local AARP members boarded a bus at the North Utica Senior Center this morning for a trip to Albany.

They'll be urging Senator Joseph Griffo and Senate GOP leaders to pass a bill co-sponsored by Senator David Valesky to create an independent utility consumer advocate..

Bill Armbruster, AARP New York State Associate Director, says New York is one of ten states without a utility consumer advocate.

Armbruster says that's one of the reasons New Yorkers pay the highest average electric in the continental United States.

A new statewide AARP survey shows that voters age 50 and older overwhelmingly support the bill and don't think their elected officials are doing enough to combat rising utility costs.