New York State Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha and Helen Bueti of Mid-Hudson Valley DSA’s Ecosocialism working group share the story behind the Hudson Valley Power Authority — a bold campaign to dissolve Central Hudson utility and replace it with a publicly owned, not-for-profit energy corporation.
Assemblymember Shrestha walks through the structural flaws of investor-owned utilities, including perverse incentives to overspend on capital infrastructure, shareholder profit mandates embedded in rate cases, and why the Public Service Commission’s own words make the case for public ownership. Helen Bueti shares the organizing perspective behind the campaign and what community-led public power looks like on the ground.
