Some Richmondville Residents Concerned About High Electric Bills

RICHMONDVILLE — A discussion of high electric bills took a big chunk of time at the start of the Monday, March 16 Village of Richmondville Board of Trustees meeting.

Resident Lisa Scott opened Privilege of the Floor with a question about why her recent bills from Richmondville Power & Light had been so high, and fellow resident Siri Young soon joined in with questions and concerns on the same subject.

Richmondville Power & Light does not generate its own power but buys it from various sources and then distributes it among its customers, village officials explained.

"We get three major bills for power," said RPL Superintendent Tim Smith. "This year, everything has just kind of come together (leading to higher bills for customers). New York State has just enough generation to meet its needs and the extra cold winter affected that. It's really a whole combination of things. Little things keep adding on. We also buy some power from Canada, and tariffs might have played a part."

Mayor Carl Warner Jr. added "it's the pass-through costs we have to pay and we have to recoup that." He added the state's mandates regarding electric school buses and other moves toward electric, and also the growing use of artificial intelligence and its power demands all pay a role in higher costs for electricity.

"It's the whole nation, not just Richmondville," said Deputy Village Clerk Alia Harwood of the trend toward higher electric bills. She handles billing for Richmondville Power & Light.

"None of us are happy with what we're paying right now," said Trustee Robert Hyatt, who nonetheless added that RPL remains cheaper than other options.

"It's a national problem, and it's a really good thing  you brought it up," Trustee Milan Jackson said.

Young indicated the situation has become frustrating.

"I used a lot less (electricity) and the bill still went up $250 from the month before," she said. "I'm doing all the right things to lower my bill, and it still ends up higher because of that purchase price (for RPL to purchase electricity)."

In other actions from the March 16 meeting, Department of Public Works Superintendent Eric Jones reported that probably 20 to 30 more new water meters need to be installed before the department can fully transition to reading readers remotely instead of having to go on to properties and look at them up close.

In his report, Tim Smith said RPL needs radios so employees can more dependably communicate with each other when out in the field, rather than relying on their cell phones.

"There are spots where the phones don't work," he said.

Building Code Enforcement Officer Jesse Wilcox reported that a situation with a troublesome and unsightly property on Summit Street will probably end up having to be resolved in court.

"I assume we will be taking him to court," Wilcox said. Among the problems at the site are five unregistered vehicles sitting around and lots of tree stumps, he noted.

"We have to call DEC (state Department of Environmental Conservation), you can't bury those stumps," Warner said.

There was some follow-up discussion from a March 10 special meeting where Engineer Brendon Becker made an estimate of $1.6 million in possible improvements total to the village's sewage collection system and treatment plant. The village has received $700,000 of a $1 million buy-in fee from the Town of Richmondville as payment for the village accepting and treating sewage resulting from the town's upcoming sewer improvement project estimated to cost between $12 million and $16 million. That project will bring public sewer service to much of the town, including Warnerville.

Hyatt suggested and Warner agreed there needs to be another meeting where village officials prioritize and decide which items from that improvements list are most crucial and need to be sent out to bid. Becker mentioned at the March 10 special meeting that not every item on the total improvements list is "super high priority" and that the $1.6 million price tag has the potential to be cut down.

The village board also had some follow-up discussion on a plan to install an indoor camera and panic button at the village municipal building on Main Street in the event that an irate RPL or other customer gets too aggressive or out of hand, or someone else comes into the building that represents a danger of some kind. There might be a scenario where Harwood, Village Clerk-Treasurer Jenifer Fisher or another employee wouldn't be able to use a phone to call for help and would need the panic button, village officials said.

A price quote obtained by Jones for the camera, panic button and related items was reviewed at the March 16 meeting and raised concerns with Warner and other board members as being too high. Jones said he would investigate the matter further and look into how the price might be lowered. 

In the world of today, no possible dangerous scenario can be entirely dismissed, Trustee Lisabeth Kabel pointed out.

"I just want them (village employees) to have the tools they need to be safe," she said.