BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – Democratic congressional candidate Josh Riley is calling on state regulators to reject a rate increase requested by NYSEG.

Riley attended Blues on the Bridge in Binghamton with his family on Saturday to do some politicking. He’s joining other Democrats in asking the New York Public Service Commission to deny a request by NYSEG’s parent company Avangrid that could lead to a 22% hike in gas and electric delivery fees.

Riley calls the proposal unconscionable given that Avangrid’s owner, Spanish-based Iberdrola, reported more than a billion dollars in profits in the first half of this year.

The Democrat also slammed current Congressman Republican Marc Molinaro for accepting campaign contributions from Avangrid. Riley claims that political action committees and lobbyists connected to NYSEG have given Molinaro more than $20,000.

“They’re spending millions of dollars on lobbyists, and millions of dollars on campaign contributions to buy my opponent who they’ve sent thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars to buy his silence as far as I can tell. They’re making billions of dollars in profits. They don’t need to raise rates 22% on Broome County seniors who are on a fixed income. They don’t and regulators should reject it,” said Riley.

A NYSEG spokesperson says Riley is spreading misinformation in order to attract media attention. The company argues that the increase is needed in order to update its system, make it more resilient to storms and meet clean energy goals.

NYSEG says the increase would amount to $10 per month on residential energy bills on average.

Meanwhile, a Molinaro spokesperson struck back at Riley, calling the former Congressional attorney a resident of Washington DC. Molinaro says he opposes rate hikes and has a history of advocating for consumers and holding utilities accountable.