By Dan Murphy
The outrage to a proposed 17% Con Edison rate hike has spread across Westchester and New York State, at the same time as residents in Yonkers are being offered a renewable energy rate from Westchester Powser that is less than Con Ed’s rate, before the increase.
Governor Kathy Hochul urged Con Edison to review their billing practices and better communicate with New Yorkers after the recent surge in energy costs in New York State left many already struggling New Yorkers surprised, through a letter from Public Service Commission (PSC), and also announced increased relief efforts to reach low-income New Yorkers about millions of dollars in aid available.
“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,” Governor Hochul said. “Even though the spike we are seeing in electricity, natural gas and fuel prices were predicted and are due to severe winter weather, I am calling on Con Ed to review their billing practices because we must take unified action to provide relief for New Yorkers, especially our most vulnerable residents.”
This winter the cost of natural gas, which is used to heat homes and generate electricity, has risen sharply resulting in a significant increase — sometimes more than doubling – of the supply component of customer electric and/or natural gas bills as compared to prior months. These bill increases are being driven by a global increase in natural gas commodity prices due to higher domestic usage because of colder-than-normal weather, increased economic activity, and increased international demand for natural gas.
Some residents in Yorktown have seen their Con Ed bills double over the winter, resulting in a rally on Feb. 11 to condemn skyrocketing utility rates and demanded answers, transparency, and accountability.
“The fact is the State has led us into an energy crisis that is creating a financial emergency for families, seniors on fixed incomes and small businesses,” said Supervisor Matt Slater. “We are facing record inflation and for the State to even consider a rate hike, coming off of a three-year rate hike, during these times just proves how out of touch and insane New York State has become.”
Councilman Tom Diana said he spoke with the mayor of Buchannan this morning about the Indian Point Energy Center, the nuclear plant that state officials closed last year. “This is one of the big signs of the consequences that these past elections have had,” said Diana. “You have a 200 percent increase in your electric bills, minimum.”
Utilities have argued that normal winter demand for power and fuel, combined with supply chain disruptions, have caused the price spikes in natural gas, which is used to create most of the electricity in New York.
“They’re passing on the cost of energy to our consumers. That’s always been the answer from the utility companies,” said state Assemblyman Kevin Byrne. “When they shut down Indian Point, they said they were going to replace the power with natural gas. The price of natural gas is a very big reason why the cost of energy has gotten so high.”
The Yorktown Town Board sent letters to the Public Service Commission requesting the Special Counsel for Ratepayer Protection on an investigation into the high bills consumers are receiving. The Town Board also sent a letter opposing ConEdison’s request for an 11.2% electric rate increase as well as an 18.2% increase. The Town Board is requesting the entity that regulates New York State’s utilities hold a public hearing at Yorktown Town Hall so ratepayers in Northern Westchester can have their voices heard.
In a letter, NYS Public Service Commission Chair Rory Christian recommended that ConEd:
- Mitigate the recent high customer bills by providing the full values of its hedged commodity procurements to customers in the next billing cycle.
- Reassess its approach of forecasting its hedge value in billing cycle updates to reduce the likelihood of dramatic and sudden price volatility.
- Improve communication to electric and gas customers to better explain forecasted commodity price changes.
On Feb. 10, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and State Senator Shelley B. Mayer sent a joint letter on Feb. to Consolidated Edison and the Public Service Commission demanding that recent rate increases be suspended and other measures be taken to mitigate the impact of the dramatic jump seen in Con Edison ratepayers’ bills.
“We have grave concerns about the financial shock these high costs will have for our constituents and others across New York State,” said the Senators in their letter. “The rise in charges will result in serious challenges for many New Yorkers, particularly those already struggling to make ends meet.”
Recent spikes in energy prices coinciding with a planned rate increase approved by the Public Service Commission have resulted in some ratepayers’ bills more than doubling between December 2021 and January 2022. Both Senators had opposed the planned rate increase.
In the letter, which is attached to this press release, the Senators said the “situation is unacceptable” and called on the Public Service Commission and Con Edison to take immediate action to provide relief to ratepayers.
“Both the Public Service Commission and Con Edison have a responsibility to ratepayers, and such dramatic and unexpected cost increases demand action on your part in order to fulfill that responsibility,” the Senators wrote.
Congressman Jamaal Bowman stated on Feb. 11,
“Just in the last three days, I have heard from many of our neighbors who are calling and writing in about Con Ed’s outrageous price hikes that have led to New Yorkers receiving energy bills that have doubled or even tripled in price,” said Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D. (NY-16). “To drop these kinds of increases on families at any time is unacceptable, but to do so during a pandemic and in the middle of winter when families are using heaters to stay warm is unconscionable. Con Ed has made record profits while our neighbors, even before the rate increase, were forced to choose between staying warm and paying more or battling the cold to avoid a higher energy bill. While Con Ed points to a rise in fuel prices and jumps to pass this cost onto consumers, this is caused by one thing and one thing only: corporate greed that puts profits before people.”
“Calling out this blatant show of corporate greed is not enough though “I support our community in calling for an investigation into Con Ed’s decision to raise prices on our neighbors and will continue working with the Biden Administration to stop companies like Con Ed from using the increased cost of fuel to implement unfair rate increases on consumers. I am calling on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to protect consumers from high energy costs this winter, and am urging my colleagues to immediately pass my Heating and Cooling Relief Act that will provide millions of people with assistance to pay their energy bills. We also need to have a deeper conversation about access to clean, affordable energy as a human right — not an opportunity for profit — which I believe can be facilitated by public ownership of utilities. I will keep fighting for our neighbors every step of the way.
The massive increases proposed by Con Ed are making residents in Yonkers rethink their opposition to a switch in their power supply to an Energy Service Company, (ESCO), that used renewable energy. Provided through Sustainable Westchester, the Westchester Power Community Choice Aggregation is offering Yonkers residents a lower rate than Con Ed currently provides, and the ability to lock in that lower rate before Con Ed’s requested increase is approved.
“A very simple way to look at this is you can lock in a low rate now and avoid any large increases,” said Spano in a recent interview.
