Mid-Hudson News reports that State Senator Jennifer Metzger, a Democrat from Ulster County, is complaining about New York State Electric and Gas's proposed rate increase for electricity delivery. The 23 percent increase means an average increase of $10.20 a month on customer bills. Metzger says that, “would place an unreasonable burden on my constituents, is entirely unacceptable, and must be rejected.” Metzger also complained about NYSEG’s “poor track record of service reliability” saying the company has “consistently under-invested in preventative maintenance for reliability, which worsened the severity of impacts of the March 2018 winter storms and has also contributed to a high frequency of power outages in my Senate district more generally.” The Public Service Commission will consider the rate hike at its Feb. 3 meeting. Metzger wants the PSC “to ensure that proposed changes to [the utility’s] vegetation management plan prioritize circuits in the Catskills region, which has suffered an inordinate number of power outages.” Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.