Con Edison is asking the New York Public Service Commission to increase customers’ average electric and gas bills by roughly 11 and 13 percent, respectively, starting next year. The utility, which serves New York City and Westchester County, says it needs to increase its delivery rates in order to expand and maintain its infrastructure.
Elmsford resident Lucia Alfano says she’s fed up. At a recent rally protesting the proposal in White Plains, the nurse and mother of two said she’s had to put off buying things for her children multiple times in order to pay her utility bill. She’s also watched her patients forgo care in order to keep their heat on.
“They’re choosing to pay their Con Ed bill instead of buying their medications, and it’s really not fair for us to do to our seniors," says Alfano.
Con Edison is far from the only utility asking the PSC for a rate hike right now. National Grid’s Niagara Mohawk Power Corp is seeking a 20 percent increase in delivery revenue. Orange & Rockland wants a roughly 7 percent delivery increase. And Central Hudson Gas & Electric wants to increase its delivery rates by nearly 9 percent starting in July, despite just winning a controversial rate hike last year.
Multiple lawmakers are urging the PSC to reject Con Ed’s request, as is Governor Kathy Hochul.
New York State Senator Shelley Mayer, a Democrat from the 37th District, says the PSC’s rate case process needs to change. She says utilities know they can come to the table with exorbitant requests and “settle” for the price they really want. Mayer has a bill that she says would flip the script.
“My bill says the Public Service Commission should determine the appropriate rate of equity, or rate of return, which is presumptive," says Mayer. "In other words, unless you can prove that it’s wrong, that should be the rate."
Mayer has also introduced legislation that would prevent utilities from using rate hikes to recover certain operating expenses, including any senior executive salaries that exceed the governor’s salary of $250,000.
Governor Hochul has called on the PSC to conduct a statewide audit of salaries for non-union utility employees.
"A lot people are saying, ‘Why am I paying this, when they’re getting paid this much because of that money?’" says Hochul. "I want to make sure that [utilities] are being responsible in how they use our ratepayer dollars.”
In a statement, the Public Service Commission says it is “poring over” Con Ed’s books to identify ways to cut costs, in what it maintains is a transparent, 11-month review process.
Con Ed, for its part, says it is “acutely aware of the issue of affordability,” and that it provided $300 million in discounts to low-income ratepayers last year. The utility says nearly 27 percent of its proposed electricity rate increase (and 14 percent of the gas increase) is caused by an expected increase in property taxes on its infrastructure. Con Ed says it also needs to fortify its infrastructure against extreme weather and keep up with New York’s clean energy goals. In a statement, a spokesperson says the utility “stands ready to work with stakeholders and the public to balance all these priorities.”
Hartsdale resident Joel Wurzler says he’s been calling on Con Ed to lower its delivery rates since 2019. He started a petition on change.org that has more than 19,000 signatures as of Monday.
“My utility should not be a mortgage payment," says Wurzler. "My last bill was $1,063.09. $346.19 was gas and electric. $716 was the delivery charge.”
Wurzler also says utilities should be a public service, not a private company. It’s not a new idea: in the upper Hudson Valley, State Senator Michelle Hinchey and Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, both Democrats, have introduced legislation that would allow New York to take over Central Hudson. Central Hudson has said it opposes the bill, and that any public takeover would cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
