Staten Island Con Ed customers could see nearly $30 monthly rate hike if utility gets its way

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Consolidated Edison wants to charge its electricity customers nearly $30 per month more to help cover its increased costs.

The utility company is asking the state’s Public Service Commission to approve an electricity delivery revenue increase of about $1.6 billion. That revenue increase would result in a bill hike for the average residential Con Ed customer of about $26.60, according to the state Department of Public Service.

Typical commercial businesses can expect to see an electricity delivery bill increase of nearly $300 and a monthly increase of nearly $15,000 could be in store for industrial businesses, according to the Department of Public Service.

Additionally, the company is asking for a gas delivery revenue increase of $349 million, which would result in a bill increase of $46.42 for the typical Con Ed residential heating customer, according to the Department of Public Service.

Con Ed, whose CEO Timothy Cawley received a total compensation of about $12 million last year, only provides electric service to Staten Island for about 172,000 residential and commercial businesses on Staten Island, according to the company’s website.

The utility company calculates customer’s delivery rates based on how much it costs to bring them their services, and customers cannot affect it with lower usage.

According to Con Ed and the Department of Public Service, the bulk of that delivery cost comes from property taxes on the company’s infrastructure, investment in that infrastructure, and general operating costs.

The proposed rate hikes would take effect next year and follow a previously-approved rate hike that took effect in January.

A group of lawmakers, including Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, slammed the rate increase when Con Ed proposed it earlier this year.

“As New Yorkers face an acute affordability crisis, ConEd is again proposing a rate increase for gas,” Assemblymember Mamdani said in February. “Too many tenants in New York already cannot afford their energy bill, while countless homeowners and small business owners don’t know how they will afford next month’s bill. ConEd doesn’t need this money to deliver its services — it said itself in its proposal that the cost of gas has not changed. What is guiding this proposal is yet another attempt to extract more profit from working class New Yorkers.”

A Con Ed spokesperson said the company is also concerned with affordability pointing to the $300 million it spends on discounts for eligible customers. The spokesperson also said the company is open to working with lawmakers to address the property tax costs.

“We also have a responsibility to continue to safely and efficiently deliver the nation’s most reliable power while complying with state laws and regulations,” the spokesperson said. “That means fortifying the grid in the face of increasingly severe weather, supporting the state’s clean energy goals and deploying the workforce we need to conduct ongoing maintenance and swiftly respond to customer service calls. Con Edison stands ready to work with stakeholders and the public to balance all these priorities and continue to deliver safe, reliable power while using our customers’ dollars as efficiently as possible.”

Public hearings to be held

The Public Service Commission, which will decide whether to approve the rate hikes, began a series of hearings earlier this week, and two will be held on Staten Island later this month.

The Joan and Alan Bernikow JCC at 1466 Manor Rd. will be host to the events on July 22 and 23. Both events will begin at 6 p.m.

For those who cannot attend or prefer not to speak at a public statement hearing, there are several other ways to provide comments to the Commission, which must receive all comments by Nov. 21.

• Internet or Mail: Go to www.dps.ny.gov, click on “File Search” (located under the heading “Commission Files”), enter “25-E-0072” or “25-G-0073” in the “Search by Case Number” box, and then click on “Post Comments” at the top right of the page. Alternatively, comments may be mailed to the Hon. Michelle L. Phillips, Secretary, Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York, 12223-1350; however, electronic filing of comments is strongly encouraged. All written comments submitted to the Secretary will be posted on the Department’s website and will become part of the record of the proceeding in which they are posted. Please be advised that the Commission may not consider untimely comments. Comments may be accessed on the Department’s website by searching the case numbers, as described above, and clicking on the “Public Comments” tab.
• Toll-Free Opinion Line: Individuals may submit comments by calling the Commission’s Opinion Line at 1-800-335-2120. This number is set up to receive comments about pending cases from in-State callers 24-hours a day. These comments are not transcribed, but a summary is provided to the Commission.