People living in the Hudson Valley are speaking out about planned utility hikes.

The state's public service commission held a public hearing yesterday at Ramapo Town Hall.

Orange & Rockland Utilities says it wants to increase electricity costs to about $1.85 a month for the average customer. Natural gas will increase by nearly $10 a month.

"It's absurd in these economic times, where we have everyone pulling back on what they have to spend and using austerity, and meanwhile giving Orange & Rockland this incredible increase," says Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence.

O & R says it plans to use the additional revenue to pay for leftover Superstorm Sandy recovery costs and upgrades to its infrastructure.