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New York Power-Bill Backlash Threatens Con Edison’s Climate Goals - Con Edison is asking for double-digit rate hikes to fund $21 billion in grid upgrades, but New Yorkers already face some of the highest bills in the U.S. Regulators are pushing back, leaving a tough question: how do we prepare the grid without pricing people out?
Con Edison wants a double-digit rate hike — and the numbers are staggering.
Con Edison is proposing:
The $2 billion in rate hikes would pay for just a portion of the $21 billion in upgrades that Con Ed is saying it needs. Con Ed states that it needs to prepare for more extreme weather, bury power lines, add sensors and algorithms to detect problems, build new substations, and connect more clean energy to meet New York’s 2040 zero-emissions goal.
But here’s the context. Con Ed already raised electric bills by about 13% in 2020, spread over three years. Combining that with the proposed 11.4% means customers would pay about 26% more than they did in 2019. If you were paying $200 before, now you are paying an extra $600 a year, or an extra 3 months of bills.
At a public hearing in Yonkers, the debate turned personal.
A mother on oxygen support said she already spends 40% of her income on energy. Another customer, who runs appliances only at off-peak hours, still gets $800 monthly bills. Both fear that higher rates could push them out of their homes.
New Yorkers pay among the highest rates in the U.S.
That means city residents face an even steeper climb if rates go up further.
But state regulators aren’t on board with the full request. Staff at the New York Public Service Commission have recommended cutting the electric rate increase from $1.6 billion down to just $300 million, and the gas hike from $440 million to about $45 million. These are reductions in how much revenue Con Ed would be allowed to collect, not direct cuts to the $21 billion grid upgrade plan, but if the shortfall isn’t covered from other sources, it could delay or scale back critical projects.
Con Ed stands by its belief that climate change is real — and they’re preparing. But who should shoulder the cost, and at what price for those already struggling?
Author: Tope Alake