Congress calls for Con Ed investigation
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New York’s elected officials are calling for an investigation into the Con Edison price hike. Photo via Tdorante10/Wikimedia Commons
By Rachel Vick
Members of the state’s Congressional delegation are calling on the New York State Public Service Commission to investigate Con Edison’s rate increases.
In the letter released Friday, Queens Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Tom Suozzi and Nydia Velázquez signed onto the letter requesting an investigation into the price hikes that have resulted in bills twice to three times as large for some New Yorkers.
“As many New Yorkers have pointed out, should these rate hikes continue, it would make it impossible for residents to be able to afford rent and utilities,” the letter says. “ In many cases, these rate increases, as well as the proposed rate increases Con Edison submitted for service provided in future years, could force residents to move out of their homes.”
“As we work to recover from a global pandemic that has left many people in economically vulnerable situations, it is important that the Commission work hand-in-hand with the measures passed by Congress to protect New Yorkers from significant rate hikes,” the letter continues.
Some Con Ed users in Queens have seen their bills triple despite no change in use, according to the utility company.
The letter to New York State Public Service Commission Chairman Rory Christian expressed concern for the possibility of “constituents having to choose between putting food on the table and keeping the electricity running.”
Following the letter, Christian announced that PSC had issued a letter to the utility company requesting a detailed overview of their billing practice.
"We understand that increases in winter electric and gas bills cause financial hardship,” Christian said. “While the PSC and the utilities cannot control supply prices, utilities can improve their procurement and billing practices to reduce the likelihood of dramatic price swings in the future and we are requiring Con Edison to address this going forward."
The federal legislators’ concern reflects previous calls for a PSC investigation into Con Edison’s practices and concern from local legislators, who have echoed complaints from constituents left confused by the spike.
State Sen. Michael Gianaris said that the “pernicious behavior, and dismissive explanation” are part of the reason he — and others — support the need for publicly-owned utilities.
A spokesperson for Con Edison said the company’s purchase model is intended to maximize stable pricing but the increase was due to the unavoidable cost of natural gas — used to produce electricity — and the general volatility of the market.
In 2020, the state’s Public Service Commission approved a price increase over three years to cover the transition to renewable energy but the bulk of the increase was due to supply.
The average New York City household using about 300 Kilowatt Hours of electricity monthly saw the billing based on supply increase from $22.80 in December to just under $61 in January, according to Con Edison.
“Con Edison is taking action to address the increase in energy supply costs and its impact on our customers,” the spokesperson told the Eagle. “We are reviewing all of our practices that affect customer supply costs, including our energy-buying practices, the tools we use to reduce supply price volatility, the way we communicate changes in supply prices and our programs to help customers who have fallen behind on their bills.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul issued her support for shocked residents, calling for relief and a review of billing “even though the spike we are seeing in electricity, natural gas and fuel prices were predicted and are due to severe winter weather.”
“The extreme utility bill increases we are seeing across the state come at a time when New Yorkers are already struggling financially following the COVID-19 pandemic," Hochul said.
If you need assistance with your utility bill, information and resources are available at dps.ny.gov.
