U.S. Rep. George Latimer blamed rising costs on President Donald Trump’s planned international tariffs during a virtual town hall this month.
When asked by constituents about the concerning high level of recent utility bills, the freshman congressman and former Westchester County executive said talk of Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico have already resulted in cost increases for the average consumer on just about everything, including utilities, and added that tariffs only have the potential to worsen already skyrocketing Con Edison rates.
Latimer also mentioned that New York imports some of its energy production from Canada.
The congressman, who lives in Rye, said his most recent Con Ed bill went up substantially from his previous cycle, while his energy use wasn’t much different.
“I sat down and paid my Con Edison bill just like everybody else does,” Latimer said during the March 5 town hall, his first since arriving in Washington. “We’re all affected by it.”
Latimer’s town hall came just about a week after residents countywide rallied alongside state Sen. Shelley Mayer at the Westchester County Center to demand lower Con Ed prices.
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins also announced last week that the county joined a New York state lawsuit against Con Edison over “unreasonable utility rate hikes.”
Con Ed, an energy provider with Rye homes in its coverage zone, is regulated through the New York state Department of Public Service. Public Service commissioners, who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate, serve six-year terms.
One Rye resident, Gina Imperato, said online that her Con Edison bill skyrocketed to $2,800.
“They’re like the mafia,” Imperato wrote. “It really is criminal.”
Latimer said he hopes “we can take some action in the state” against the price hikes, which he said are caused in part by Trump’s tariffs – or taxes levied by the U.S. on imported goods.
“I hope that public opposition will stop this maniac policy of imposing tariffs,” Latimer said. “It’s a bad idea and it’s going to do nothing to help us and everything to hurt us.”
During the town hall Latimer repeatedly took aim at both Trump and Elon Musk– the billionaire in charge of the new Department of Government Efficiency – criticizing them for attacking federal employees rather than working to improve the economy and bring prices down.
And he said this isn’t just a Con Edison issue, but that National Grid and New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) customers are also feeling rate hikes.
“If we, in Washington, were to focus on that problem rather than destroying federal government people, we would be doing the people’s work. But we’re not,” Latimer said.
Update: This story was updated at 4:15 p.m. on March 20 to clarify that Latimer blamed general high costs on the fear of international tariffs.
