County, state officials demand Con Ed rate freeze

Westchester County Board of Legislators Chair Vedat Gashi, surrounded by Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins and other county officials, demanding Con Edison’s rates be frozen. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Delivery fee requests called ‘exorbitant’

By MARTIN WILBUR

County officials and several of Westchester’s state representatives urged the Public Service Commission this week to freeze Con Edison delivery rates, accusing the utility of exorbitant increase requests as households struggle to pay their bills.

County Executive Ken Jenkins and members of the Board of Legislators announced their opposition to the Joint Proposal Monday morning, which coincided with a coordinated effort by Westchester and New York City-based state legislators in Albany and the New York City Council to fight the proposed hikes.

While there was a compromise in November among a consortium of about 40 Westchester municipalities and the county to set electricity rate increases at 2.8% and gas rates at 2% annually through 2028, that doesn’t include larger increases in delivery charges. Proposed Con Edison electricity delivery charges are slated to rise 4.3%, 5% and 3.3% for each of the next three years starting this year while gas delivery will rise 7.2% and 3.7% in 2027 and 2028, respectively, after a slight decrease of 0.3% has been offered for 2026.

The PSC is scheduled to vote on Con Edison’s rate proposal at its next meeting on Thursday, Jan. 22.

“Families, seniors and small businesses simply can’t absorb another round of rate increases,” Jenkins said. “All of our utility bills have skyrocketed in recent years, and in some cases doubling or tripling. People are making impossible choices, paying for their rent or paying for their utilities, paying for groceries or pay for gas.”

Westchester representatives as well as state officials pointed out how if the proposal before the PSC is approved it would result in a 9.4% return on equity for shareholders, higher than those approved in previous rate cases. State Sen. Pete Harckham, D-40, said Con Edison already rakes in profits of about $2 billion annually. 

In the last agreement Con Edison received a 9.25% return on equity and had requested 10.1% for the next three years.

“In what world is it really justified to be talking about rate increases for a corporation that averages $2 billion in profits a year,” Harckham said. “We need to start putting our consumers first instead of the $2 billion in profits annually that this utility makes.”

Assemblymember Chris Burdick, D-93, said 416,598 Con Edison residential customers in its coverage area of New York City and most of Westchester are behind on their bills for at least 60 days, totaling $889 million in payments. More than 100,000 customers have had their power shut off due to lack of payment, he said.

“These numbers are absolutely staggering, and evidence that Con Edison customers are already struggling to afford their utility bills,” Burdick said. “We have an affordability crisis. The proposal going to the Public Service Commission only will deepen that crisis. We are calling on the Public Service Commission to do the right thing — reject the proposal and freeze rates.”

An average residential customer would see actual bill increases of 3.5% or about $84 annually for electricity in the first year and 4.4% or $128 annually for gas figures confirmed by the utility. In the second and third years, the effective increases would be 3.2% and 3.1%, respectively, for electricity and 5.7% and 5.6%, respectively, for gas when factoring in the delivery charges.

Con Edison responded, saying that a wide assortment of entities, including the Westchester Municipal Consortium, the MTA, the Alliance for a Green Economy, Consumer Power Advocates and many others do not oppose the joint proposal.

Responding to the legislators, the utility’s press office issued statements that it reliably powers 9 million customers in a region that is the economic engine of the United States every day, but is aware that many households are struggling.

“We recognize affordability is a critical issue as costs rise across housing, transportation, food, and healthcare,” a Con Edison statement read. “That’s why we’ve expanded our energy affordability program and offer flexible payment options to help ease the burden. We work every day to balance the investments needed for resilience and reliability with customer costs while supporting the communities we serve.” 

The utility has also provided nearly $500 million discounts to income-eligible residents with its energy assistance programs.

“We work with customers on solutions to help manage energy bills,” a Con Edison spokesperson said. “Terminating service is a tool of last resort. It is used when a customer has repeatedly failed to pay their energy bills over a prolonged period and has not enrolled in a flexible payment plan to meet their obligation.” 

Several Westchester County legislators lambasted Con Edison’s delivery rate request, characterizing it as outlandish. Legislator Erika Pierce, D-2, said some are paying upwards of $1,000 a month for average-sized houses or apartments. She said those who choose to conserve energy by keeping their thermostat at 60 degrees or refraining from using air conditioning in the summer in order to reduce their bills would only see a negligible decline. The delivery charge portion of the bill, which in some cases is higher than the electricity charge, will appear regardless of how much energy a customer uses.

“That’s just wrong, and let’s remember this is a monopoly,” Pierce said. “None of these people have a choice to get a different provider. They can’t make changes, they can’t change their thermostat and they can’t get another provider. That means they’re trapped and the only entity that can help right now, protect these residents, is the PSC.”

Another county legislator, Jewel Williams Johnson, D-8, called what Con Edison is doing “a story of corporate greed.” Particularly galling is that the utility’s CEO, Timothy Cawley, reportedly receives total compensation of about $13 million a year, she said.

Jenkins demanded that Con Edison freeze its rates and slash shareholders’ return on equity that is consistent to what consumers are feeling.

“Set the rate no higher than current levels and make the proposed return on equity a level that reflects current market conditions and fairness to taxpayers,” he said.

Lewisboro, Pound Ridge and a portion of Bedford are serviced by NYSEG, which also requested sharp increases in rates last summer. That rate case has yet to be decided.

Martin Wilbur has more than 30 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, and previously served as editor-in-chief of The Examiner.