Paul Kirby is reporting for the Daily Freeman the delivery rates for Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. will increase July 1, despite calls by top state and Ulster County lawmakers to stop them. The utility said the new rates, approved by the Public Service Commission as part of a three-year plan in November, will go into effect as planned. The plan includes another increase in delivery charges a year from now, in July 2023. In May, Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, state Senator Michelle Hinchey and Assemblymember Kevin Cahill penned a letter to the Public Service Commission requesting the commission stop the utility’s rate increase in July. Ryan, Hinchey, and Cahill argued the commission should restrict any increases until its investigation into the utility’s billing practices was completed. Central Hudson has been under fire for billing complaints and skyrocketing customer bills. The PSC as well as a state Senate committee are investigating those matters. Joseph Jenkins, a Central Hudson spokesman, said the delivery rate increase will adhere to the PSC approvals. “Under the approved delivery rate plan and based on market prices for electricity and natural gas as of July 2021, total average residential electric bills using 640 kilowatt-hours per month will decrease by [point] 25 percent in the first year;...,” Jenkins said in an email. “Total average residential natural gas bill using 870 cubic feet per year will increase by 1.2 percent, or about $1.64 per month, during the first year; ...” Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.