BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- A newly filed lawsuit may put a stop to a recently approved Preference Power rate hike from the New York Power Authority, which is slated to impact 47 municipal power providers including Massena Electric. 

Plaintiffs John Lemondes, William Brennan and Lawrence Sloane assert the rate hike is in fact illegal and violates a previous ruling by Judge John Tenney that occurred 40 years ago. 

Lemondes is an Assemblyman representing New York’s 126th Assembly District. 

That ruling in essence stated the Power Authority was not permitted to increase Presence Power rate for users in a municipal district, such as Massena Electric, without an approved contract for the sale of the power, which also needed to be signed by the Governor. 

It is unclear if Governor Kathy Hochul has officially signed a contract to approve the new rates or not. 

But when NYPA Trustees voted to approve the multi-year rate hike, which will commence April 1 of this year, they violated the law, according to attorney Gary Lavine. 

In an interview with North Country This Week, Lavine offered comments on the case that is being brought forth more than 40 years after the initial ruling. 

Lavine represented Sloan previously, noting he and co-counsel Aaron Zimmerman were once again taking on the case after NYPA opted to raise rates despite previous rulings.

Lavine said he and Zimmerman were pursuing an Article 78 against the trustees, who he said knowingly obfuscated the situation when they approved the rate increase during their Dec. 9 meeting. 

An Article 78 proceeding in New York State allows plaintiffs to challenge decisions, actions, or inactions by administrative agencies, public bodies, or officers. 

Due to a statute of limitations of just four months from the final, binding agreement, Lavine said it was important for the lawsuit to be filed quickly.

“They are playing ‘hide the ball’ in an attempt to obfuscate when they already know what is being done is not legal,” he said. 

Lavine said Tenney’s ruling and the assertion from the Appellate Court thereafter clearly set the ground rules for a Preference Power rate increase. 

“The ruling clearly states that Preference Power can only be sold at cost, not a penny more,” Lavine said. 

Accusations about the illegal sale of such power at exponentially higher rates, coupled with other litigation regarding delivery and service fees have been at the forefront of news cycles in recent months as state lawmakers question NYPA’s practices. 

Attempts to contact NYPA officials and representatives at the Governor’s Office went unreturned as of press time. 

The rate hike marks the first increase in 11 years but brings into question just what the rate should actually be. 

Lavine said proceeds from Preference Power cannot be used for other power projects but whether that is the case or not remains unclear. 

“We will learn more through the discovery process as the case plays out,” he said. 

Some critics of the move have suggested that the initial power rates were already in violation of the previous rulings but with NYPA officials not offering exact figures it remains unclear if those claims are accurate.

In total, 47 municipal systems, four rural electric cooperatives, three upstate investor-owned utilities, seven neighboring states, two transportation authors, host communities listed by the relicensing agreement for Niagara Power Project, as well as the Tuscarora Nation will be impacted. 

Despite being posted for public review for 30 days, the contract drew no comments. 

NYPA officials say the increase amounts to less than 3% annually and will amount to roughly $2-3 per month for the average user based on an estimated usage of 1,200 kWh per month.  The increase is being phased in over a six-year period and will impact roughly 370,000 end users, including commercial and industrial users along with residential users. 

Officials said 1,457 megawatts of hydropower are provided to NYPA customers at power preference 

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