July 26, 2019

Honorable John B. Rhodes, Chair

The New York State Public Service Commission
3 Empire State Plaza, 20th Floor
Albany, NY 12210

Re: Request for an Investigation into Brooklyn Union Gas Company’s, d/b/a
National Grid NY, Moratorium on Natural Gas Services in Brooklyn NY.

Dear Chair Rhodes:

We, the undersigned members of the Brooklyn Delegation (“Delegation”) of the New York State
Assembly, are writing this letter concerning the Brooklyn Union Gas Company’s (d/b/a National Grid NY
or” KEDNY”) recent denial of what it characterizes as “new” gas connections in Brooklyn, New York. We
believe that these denials (the “moratorium”) and their cumulative impacts upon our constituents and
Kings County residents, as we outline below in this letter, warrant the New York State Public Service
Commission’s (“Commission”) beginning an immediate investigation into the Company’s actions.

Our concerns focus on four areas. First, the Delegation’s offices have received numerous emails, letters
and calls from constituents indicating that the Company will not be providing them gas service. These
constituents’ communications to us reveal their belief this gas crisis has arisen without prior notice or
communications by the Company. Moreover, it is clear that significant expenditures have been made by
residential and business/small business customers who relied upon being able to obtain gas service.
(Some samples of those communications and complaints are attached to this letter.) As the elected
officials representing neighborhoods across Brooklyn, we therefore have serious concerns about the
denials of service.

Second, we are extremely concerned about (a) how the Company is determining what qualifies as a
“new service connection;” (b) how the Company decides whether or not to provide service when repairs
are being made to existing connections; (c) the short notice (or no notice) the Company provides our
constituents before denying service; and (d) the general lack of transparency in connection with the
Company’s decision-making process in issuing denials of service.

Third, the denial notices and uncertainty of the moratorium are affecting the people who live and work
in our Borough. New businesses on the brink of opening, apartment buildings that are being built to
house families and the elderly, and in some cases, buildings that were undergoing repairs rather than
new service connections have been denied, or are subject to denial in a manner that undermines
investment in our economy. People are being deprived of basic gas service and are now faced with an
uncertain path on how to move forward. Many people feel they will be forced to switch from gas to
electric, which, in most cases will be extremely expensive and cost prohibitive. These concerns are valid
and deserve immediate attention. We therefore repeat our request for an immediate investigation into
National Grid’s actions, along with public hearings so that our constituents will have a formal avenue to
express their concerns.

Fourth, we are concerned that the Company is using its customers’ emails to encourage them to lobby
their state legislators or face a future without gas service. That is simply untenable.

Finally, it has come to our attention that the Public Service Commission is already conducting an
investigation into Consolidated Edison’s gas moratorium in Westchester County under Case No. 19-G-
0080. As a result of the complaints we have received from our constituents and the fact that similar
investigations are being conducted right now, we respectfully request that the Commission conduct an
immediate investigation into the causes of KEDNY’s Brooklyn moratorium and develop plans for short,
intermediate and long-term solutions. We appreciate the Commission’s prompt attention to this
request.

Sincerely,

Robert Carroll Felix W. Ortiz

Assemblymember, District 44 Assemblymember, District 51

Walter T. Mosley Jo Anne Simon

Assemblymember, District 57 Assemblymember, District 52

Steven Cymbrowitz Simcha Eichenstein

Assemblymember, District 45 Assemblymember, District 48

CC:
Kathleen H. Burgess, Secretary, the New York State Public Service Commission
Thomas Congdon, Executive Deputy, the New York State Public Service Commission
Eric Adams, Brooklyn Borough President
Richard Berkley, Executive Director, The Public Utility Law Project