National Grid's rate "freeze" leaves $1.7 billion waiting on New York gas bills
National Grid's New York gas "freeze" holds rates flat for 2 million customers while keeping $250 million of expiring charges on bills and banking $1.7 billion of pipe spending for collection from 2028. The state Public Service Commission votes this fall on letting it stand without a full rate case.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
In late May, National Grid's New York president Sally Librera filed a proposal to hold gas delivery rates for nearly 2 million New York City and Long Island customers until spring 2028 1. Governor Kathy Hochul said it held "the line on rate hikes"; Mayor Zohran Mamdani welcomed relief for households that "open their gas bills with dread" 1. Because National Grid said it was not raising rates, the filing skipped the formal rate case: no hearings so far, no discovery, a comment window that closed last week 12.
The freeze keeps a $250 million charge alive
The 2024 settlement that raised gas bills more than 20 percent over three years was due to hand one piece back next spring, when roughly $250 million in charges would have come off bills 23. The petition keeps that premium an extra year 1, worth more than $150 a year to a New York City customer and about $130 on Long Island, by the Public Utility Law Project's estimate 1.
It also folds in about $1.7 billion of gas spending, some $700 million of it pipe replacement and more than $60 million for the Greenpoint LNG site, with costs reaching bills from 2028 13. A surcharge would then add more than $50 a year to the average heating bill, on top of any future rate case, per Synapse Energy Economics' review of National Grid's own data 1.
The Greenpoint LNG site is a $60 million sliver of the $1.7 billion
- Pipe replacement$700M41.2%
- Greenpoint LNG site$60M3.5%
- Other gas spending$940M55.3%
Data
| Slice | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pipe replacement | $700M | 41.2% |
| Greenpoint LNG site | $60M | 3.5% |
| Other gas spending | $940M | 55.3% |
The freeze does not shrink the bill; it re-dates it.
The 'freeze' leaves three charges on the gas bill
- Estimate
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Premium kept on NYC bills (estimate) | $150 |
| Premium kept on Long Island bills (estimate) | $130 |
| Surcharge after the freeze (estimate) | $50 |
Critics call it credit taken out on ratepayers
National Grid says the plan "fairly balance[s]" affordability, infrastructure investment and "a stable investment climate" 1. The Department of Public Service, which worked with the company on the petition before filing, says recovery is limited to a narrow list of costs, mainly infrastructure and taxes 1.
AARP New York calls it "taking out credit on behalf of the rate payers," and a 2026 AARP study counts 1.3 million New Yorkers behind on their utility bills 13. Mamdani's own climate office now warns the plan "will harm ratepayers" 1.
The petition is the gas-side leg of a £70 billion plan
Group capital investment reached £11.6 billion in fiscal 2025/26, up 21.3 percent, with underlying earnings of 78.0p a share and a dividend raised 3.8 percent 4; the SEC filings put capex at $13.2 billion against $11.4 billion a year earlier 6. The investor pitch is a £70 billion plan targeting roughly 10 percent annual regulated asset growth through fiscal 2031, funded in part by a £7 billion rights issue 5.
The AI-heavy growth sits in UK electricity transmission, with £31 billion of the plan allocated there 5; the New York petition reads as the gas-side leg of the same machine, spend now and collect later.
Rejection means filing for increases, quickly
National Grid has told regulators that rejection means filing for rate increases "as quickly as possible"; the size of those increases is not yet filed 1. The commission can approve, rewrite or convert the petition into a full rate case at any monthly session this fall 1.
Deepdive
AI-generated from this story and its cited sources. Not investment advice.
