ConEd’s Plan for $21B Upgrades Draws Gov.'s Criticism, Calls for Utility Audit
NEW YORK—Con Edison has proposed a massive $21-billion investment to maintain and upgrade its infrastructure in New York City and Westchester County to the New York State Public Service Commission. The investment plan, released late last month in conjunction with a rate hike request, is subject to approval by the New York State Public Service Commission.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has other thoughts on the matter. Now lobbying for an item in her FY2025-26 to fight inflation and reimburse taxpayers with a rebate for inflation, she is quite sensitive to any measures that could raise household costs. Following the Con Edison request, she sent a letter asking the Department of Public Service, which regulates utility companies, to reject Con Ed’s rate increases and to audit the company’s management compensation.
“Go back to the drawing board and figure this out, but you’re not going to get that kind of rate increase from our hardworking New Yorkers,” Gov. Hochul said during a Manhattan press conference on Feb. 11. A statement from the Department of Public Service spokesperson, James Denn, said the agency would look for cost-saving measures.
However, the PSC, with its seven governor-appointed members, is responsible for approving the rate hike. The vote takes place following an extensive process of public review and negotiations between Con Edison and the Department of Public Service, which is the staff arm of the PSC. The PSC typically greenlights a smaller hike than utility companies initially propose, and it usually directs the company to stretch the increase over multiple years.
According to Con Edison, the average electric customer could see their bill increase by 11.4%, while gas customers could see jumps of 13.3%, starting as soon as Jan. 1, 2026. Con Edison has 3.4 million electric and 1.1 million gas customers in New York City and Westchester. Con Edison estimates that its investments would require approximately $1.6 billion more in electric revenue and about $440 million more in gas revenue.
The utility giant said the plan supports clean energy investments needed to build and maintain the grid of the future, improvements to customer affordability programs as well as IT infrastructure and tools that will better serve customers’ needs. The filing starts an 11-month PSC process that will include public hearings and opportunities for local governments, consumer groups, environmental advocates and others to provide written testimony.
In its requestion, Con Edison stated, “The proposed electric and gas rate plans will support economic growth and development in New York City and Westchester County by investing more than $21 billion over three years (2026-2028) to build new infrastructure, such as transmission, substation and distribution facilities to serve customers, including those in disadvantaged communities, and it will help ensure compliance with New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.”
Additionally, the plan estimates that increasing property taxes on energy infrastructure paid by customers account for nearly 27% of the proposed electric revenue increase and about 14.5% of the proposed gas revenue increase.
“Con Edison is proud to serve more than nine million people in New York City and Westchester County, supporting the vital economic, health, and transportation networks that keep our region thriving,” said Matthew Ketschke, president of Con Edison. “Our top priority is to deliver safe, reliable, and affordable energy to our customers. Our proposed investment plan will support critical work and investments in reliability, resiliency and clean energy infrastructure to meet the high expectations of our customers, who depend on us to deliver the most reliable electric service in the nation.”
Among the projects included in the utility’s investment plan include:
- A substation complex in eastern Queens to support the growing demand for power from the redevelopment of JFK Airport;
- MTA bus depots and customer electrification in the Jamaica network that will also help to lower emissions contributing to cleaner air quality for the community;
- A clean energy hub in Brooklyn;
- A Distributed System Technology Platform to integrate renewable energy sources and maintain grid stability during extreme weather;
- An electrification pilot for private, affordable multi-unit buildings to help address the affordability impact of heating electrification through bill credits to tenants not covered by rent control and residents in low-income co-ops;
- Expansion of service installation programs for new businesses, including electric vehicle infrastructure and building heating electrification.
Published: February 13, 2025.