New Yorkers have a lot to say about their energy bills.

But fighting utility rate hikes is not easy, or cheap. It takes lawyers, expert witnesses, and — among other things — a whole lot of photocopies.

Laurie Wheelock, executive director of the Public Utility Law Project, or PULP, estimates that her small consumer advocacy nonprofit spends upwards of $5,000 a year just printing documents for the court-like proceedings that state regulators hold to decide utility rates. (Groups testifying at hearings have to bring paper copies of certain documents for everyone in the room.)

That’s no small expense for most climate and consumer advocates participating in utility proceedings. But photocopying costs are only the beginning. It takes far more money to hire economists, accountants, and other experts to mount a serious challenge to utilities’ requests to hike rates.

Donald Trump has made no secret of his plans for New York’s congestion pricing program. In a social media post in May, the Republican presidential candidate promised that he would “TERMINATE Congestion Pricing in my FIRST WEEK back in Office!!”

Trump doesn’t always deliver on his promises, but he could make good on this one. If he is elected in November, there are at least three ways that he could kill the program or hold it up for years. Even further delay would be catastrophic for the budget of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Does Governor Kathy Hochul have a plan to stop him? She unilaterally paused the program in June, a move now challenged by two lawsuits. Speaking at the Democratic National Convention last week, she said that she wants to unveil a replacement around the new year.

But that might be too late.

Zaineb Salem was surprised to learn in April 2022 that she was no longer eligible for the cash assistance she’d been receiving from New York state. Salem, who has two young children, was not working at the time, because she was taking care of her disabled mother and undergoing mental health treatment after leaving a relationship. She’d been receiving roughly $700 a month in rental and cash assistance since her breakup the previous fall.

That winter, a couple of family members sent Salem small sums of money to cover expenses for her mother and children. “I wasn’t advised or told that one-time gifts count as income,” she said.

That became a problem when Salem went to the Monroe County Department of Human Services to renew her benefits for the first time. After reviewing her bank statements, a caseworker informed Salem that, with the money from her family, her income was too high for her to continue qualifying.