Thursday, October 1, 2026
Our neighbors across Nassau County tell me they simply cannot keep up with the rising costs on Long Island. The seemingly unending price increases for basic needs, like groceries, gas, health care and insurance, are forcing more hardworking families to decide what they can afford and what they must go without.
Keeping the lights on and the water running is nonnegotiable, however, leaving families at the mercy of utility bills that creep upward month after month with little warning or reason.
Long Islanders pay among the highest utility rates in the nation, and the cost of power has risen 20 percent since January. This has pushed the cost of living even higher, and made it more difficult to get by. Inconsistent and partisan energy policies, repeated price hikes by utility companies and cuts to assistance programs have sent utility bills soaring. I’m doing everything I can in Congress to lower these costs.
The Republican leadership in Washington still has not done enough to bring them down or take on the private utility companies that are driving up costs. There must be greater guardrails on these companies, which have collectively requested $50 billion in rate increases nationwide since 2025 to pad their profits. We’re seeing this firsthand in Nassau County, with Liberty Water’s latest proposed rate increases. That’s why I’ve demanded answers from Liberty Water on its repeated requests to increase rates, because no one should have to pay $20 to $30 more per month just to have water in their home.
To ensure that Washington is focused on tackling this problem, I helped launch the Congressional Lowering Utility Bills Caucus, a coalition committed to holding utility companies accountable for prioritizing profits over their consumers. I am also co-leading the Stop the Rate Hikes Act to prevent utility providers from increasing rates more than once a year. Working families are already struggling to make ends meet, and demanding frequent rate increases is unacceptable.
Holding private utility companies accountable is only part of the battle. At a recent hearing, I questioned the U.S. energy secretary, Chris Wright, about the administration’s plans to address rising electricity costs, and asked why it proposed additional cuts to vital federal support. Reports show that elderly, disabled and low-income Long Islanders are struggling to pay their energy bills. Nearly 1,000 more PSEG customers saw their power shut off in April due to overdue bills, compared with last year.
I questioned the administration’s proposal to cut funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program, which helps low-income households reduce energy bills by about 20 percent annually in New York. In Congress I’m pushing for full funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which has provided critical assistance for more than 40 years to the most vulnerable in our communities. These programs are lifelines for many to afford their utilities, and I’ll continue fighting to preserve them.
Finally, we can’t expect to bring utility prices down with partisan politics or a one-size-fits-all approach. This moment requires us to deliver bipartisan, all-of-the-above energy solutions, and I urged Wright to work with me to do just that. When we spoke, I expressed my support for the Northeast Supply Enhancement natural-gas pipeline project, which is critical for delivering more affordable, reliable energy to Long Island. New York state generates roughly half of its electricity from natural gas, and with this added source of energy, Long Island households that convert from fuel oil to natural-gas heating could save upward of $1,500 a year.
We must give local communities the ability to modernize and diversify their energy sources as we explore potentially cost-effective solutions. This way, we are never dependent on any single energy source. Part of the solution is projects like the NESE pipeline, which will reliably deliver affordable natural gas that we depend on to power and heat our homes, while supporting thousands of good-paying union jobs.
People across Nassau County tell me they desperately need relief as they stretch their paychecks further to cover mounting bills. They should never have to think about when and how long they keep their lights on, heat their homes or run their faucets for fear of paying hundreds more a month. That’s why I won’t stop fighting to hold utility companies accountable, preserve vital assistance programs, diversify our energy solutions and lower utility bills for every household on Long Island.
Laura A. Gillen represents the 4th Congressional District.
