Con Edison Rate Increase Request Has Residents Steaming
Originally published in
The Loop
on
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On social media and wherever people gather, people are complaining about their higher-than-ever Con Ed bills. and to make matters worse, the utility wants to raise gas and electric rates.
Sources estimate rate payers are looking at anywhere from an 11.4% to 18% electric rate increase, a residential electric delivery charges hike of 25%, and natural gas delivery rate increases of 13.3-19%.
Naturally, dissent was the name of the game at the New York State Dept. of Public Service’s (NYSDPS) two virtual hearings last week to hear from residents and local officials.
“This to me is corporate greed and theft and they shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it,” said a Mt. Pleasant man. “This is basically gutting the middle class. This is preposterous. This is incredibly insane.”
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins testified, “I am here on behalf of all working-class families, seniors on fixed incomes, and small business owners who are already doing everything they can to make ends meet. Forcing people to choose between heating their homes and buying groceries is not just bad policy—it’s unacceptable.
The utility has said it needs approximately $1.6 billion more in electric revenue and approximately $440 million in gas revenue “to fund the investments necessary for a safe and reliable clean energy future.”
According to a release from NYS Senator Shelley Mayer (37th Dist.) 38 cities, towns, and villages in Westchester County are forming a municipal consortium, with legal representation, to oppose the latest proposed rate increases.
According to Mayer’s office, those municipalities include Ardsley, Bedford, Briarcliff, Buchanan, Cortlandt, Croton-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Eastchester, Elmsford, Greenburgh, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Mamaroneck Town, Mamaroneck Village, Mt. Vernon, New Castle, New Rochelle, Ossining Town, Ossining Village, Peekskill, Pelham Manor, Pelham Town, Pelham Village, Port Chester, Rye Brook, Rye City, Rye Town, Scarsdale, Tarrytown, Yonkers, and Yorktown.
Larchmont is not on this list, but Larchmont Mayor Sarah Bauer says the issue is on its Board agenda for April 21.
In February, a protest against rate hikes drew several dozen Con Edison customers to the Westchester County Center, where some people brought bills of over $1000.
Con Edison serves more than nine million people in Westchester and New York City