Residents of New York City and Westchester County may have noticed a recent jump in their gas and electricity bills — one that had nothing to do with running air conditioners on hot summer days.
This month, Con Edison increased electricity billing rates by more than 9% and gas rates by more than 8%. The move represents the first of three hikes set to occur between now and 2025.
The New York State Public Service Commission, which approved the three-year plan, stated that the average New York residential customer — who uses about 600 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per month — can expect billing increases of:
- 9.1% or $14.44 this month
- 4.2% or $7.20 this coming January
- 1.4% or $2.43 starting in January 2025
Likewise, the average residential customer — who uses about 100 therms per month — can look forward to billing increases of:
- 8.4% or $17.28 this month
- 6.7% or $14.90 this coming January
- 6.6% or $15.61 starting in January 2025
Con Ed states the company needs the extra revenue to pay for upgrades, including measures to meet New York’s climate laws. Deliberations over the plan took more than a year-and-a-half, and the Public Service Commission stated that it had obtained a much better deal than originally proposed, cutting Con Ed’s initial rate request by 60%.
The public commentary period yielded about 7,500 responses, and a casual peruser would struggle to find a message of support. One letter of dissent — signed by more than half of the New York City Council — expressed concerns that the rate deal lacked a commitment by Con Ed to directly reach out to customers about energy affordability programs. In July 2022, a report by the state comptroller found that more than 1.2 million utility customers statewide were behind on bills, owing $1.8 billion. Customers from New York City and Long Island accounted for 60% of that group and 68% of the amount owed.
Laurie Wheelock is the executive director of the Public Utility Law Project of New York, which provides…
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