BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — By next spring, National Grid customers may have to pay more for their monthly bills.

The energy supplier has proposed increasing its annual electricity and gas revenues by April 2025

According to the state Public Service Commission, electricity costs for average households could rise by nearly $19 and gas costs by more than $18.

For customers who rely on the utility for both services, that’s nearly $40 extra per month.

The state held a public hearing on Tuesday to give residents the opportunity to voice their concerns about the proposed increase.

“This is outrageous. Rates are very high right now. An increase would mean a lot of problems for a lot of people in western New York State and across the state,” Kurt Kojm, volunteer attorney for AARP NY, told me.

He and other Buffalo residents shared their frustration and disbelief that their electricity bills would rise by nearly $19.

“The fact that it’s now $20 more per month is really going to be a burden for me,” said Yolanda Wyatt, volunteer advocate for AARP NY. “We’re just normal people just trying to live.”

Kurt Kojm and Yolanda Wyatt are both volunteer advocates for AARP New York.

Wyatt is disabled and has a fixed income.

Wyatt said, “When I get a raise, I have no way of going to my boss and asking for a raise because I’m not getting a raise. I can’t work overtime because I’m not getting overtime. I’m not working. I have no way of earning any income other than my disability pension.”

She said her total rent will more than double in January, her utilities have already increased and food prices are unbearable.

She told me that a large portion of her electricity consumption goes towards her life-saving equipment.

“I have this that I need to charge. I have my CPAP that I told you about. I have a life alert button that I press in case of an emergency. I don’t think they take into account that there are a lot of elderly people and a lot of disabled people. There are a lot of people, just normal, everyday people, that can’t afford this,” Wyatt added.

Ken Kujawa, regional director of National Grid, said: “We understand that customers are naturally concerned. Nobody wants their rates to go up and we are well aware of that, but our business is very capital intensive. We need to invest in our infrastructure so that we can continue to provide a safe and reliable service to our customers.”

Kujawa said this increase was due to a desire to invest up to $1.8 billion in electrification infrastructure, such as electric vehicle transportation and electric heat pumps.

“We hope that working with the Public Service Commission and all parties involved, we can reach a multi-year agreement. That would allow us to spread the rate increase we are proposing over several years so that the impact on the customer in the first year is not as great as what is being talked about today,” Kujawa added.

Laurie Wheelock is executive director and council member of the Public Utility Law Project.

Laurie Wheelock, executive director and council member of the Public Utility Law Project, said, “We will be submitting testimony and working with the company, the department and other parties over the next 11 months to get the rate increase reduced as much as possible.”

The nonprofit organization specializes in supporting and advancing low-income utility customers.

Wheelock said, “It’s really important to know about the various financial assistance programs that are coming up. One of them is HEAP; the Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps with heating costs, will be introduced on November 1st this year. Both National Fuel Gas and National Grid offer monthly rebate programs.”

Another statewide public hearing will be held virtually on Wednesday, September 25 at 1 p.m. Click here for the link.

According to Kujawa, this public meeting will conclude the public hearing process.

And again: The new tariffs would come into force in April 2025.