Photo: Getty Images
Former Columbia Utilities customers in New York will soon receive compensation checks for approximately $50. These checks will be mailed starting April 18, 2025, to over 23,000 individuals who were returned to Central Hudson after Columbia Utilities was found to lack creditworthiness. The checks will be void after 90 days, expiring on July 17, 2025.
The compensation is part of a court settlement requiring Columbia Utilities to pay $1.5 million to affected customers. The settlement follows the premature termination of an electricity supply contract with Hudson Valley Community Power (HVCP), which involved several municipalities, including Saugerties, New Paltz, and Cold Spring. The contract ended in July 2022, nearly two years before its scheduled completion.
According to the Daily Freeman, the settlement amount will be distributed after deducting legal fees. Saugerties town Supervisor Fred Costello noted that the compensation does not cover the potential savings lost due to the contract's early termination.
The HVCP program, administered by Joule Assets, aimed to provide electricity at a lower rate of 7.2 cents per kilowatt hour. However, state officials found Columbia Utilities unable to fulfill its financial commitments when electricity market prices surged in early 2022. This led to scrutiny by the state Independent System Operator and subsequent legal action.
Eligible customers include those from towns such as Clinton, Marbletown, and Red Hook, as well as the cities of Beacon and Poughkeepsie. For more information, residents can visit the Village of New Paltz website.