I appreciate Congressman Ryan’s concern about the cost of childcare and agree wholeheartedly with one central point in his letter: childcare is not a luxury. For families who need it, it is an absolute necessity.
Know what else is an absolute necessity? Electricity.
So I have to ask: When will Congressman Ryan bring this same level of urgency and public pressure to Governor Kathy Hochul over the increasingly unaffordable cost of energy in New York?
The latest available federal energy data puts New York’s average residential electricity price at 29.49 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared with 18.34 cents nationally (source: federal EIA data). That means New Yorkers are currently paying about 61 percent more per kilowatt-hour than the national average.
Additionally, bringing down utility costs benefits all residents-- such as senior citizens on fixed income-- rather than just those with small children.
I would genuinely like to see our congressional representatives bring the same intensity to Governor Hochul and New York’s energy affordability crisis that they bring to fights with the federal government. New Yorkers deserve accountability always, not just when our elected officials dislike the offending party.
Megan Cooke
Warwick