Summer shocker from Con Ed

After zapping us with a roughly six percent rate hike not long ago, Con Edison jolted customers recently by calling for another hike - of as much as 25 percent.
This time, the increase is for the June through September summer period and is nearly twice the 13 percent increase that Con Edison had forecast.
Con Edison passes along its energy costs dollar-for-dollar to its 3.2 million customers, but makes money on the transmission and delivery of that power. The rates it can charge for transmission are set by state regulators in Albany; there was a 4.9 percent increase in April.
At hearings before the rate adjustment, spokespersons for the company were citing typical oil prices of $125 a barrel and discussing a 13 percent increase. With oil prices topping $147, and gas prices rising to new highs, they had to up the ante.
According to their figures, a typical Con Edison residential bill for the hot summer months will have averaged around $105 per month, or about 22 percent more than the same period last year.
The increase, as much as 25 percent for businesses, comes as a result of New York powering more of its electric generation from low-sulfur oil and natural gas.
Coal provides the fuel for about half of all power generation nationwide, but in NYC it only accounts for 14 percent of the total.
The largest share of the state‘s power, 39 percent, comes from plants that burn either oil or natural gas. Nuclear plants provide 28 percent and hydroelectric plants 17 percent.
Nuclear plants are the leading source of electricity in New Jersey and Connecticut. Massachusetts generates a quarter of its power from coal, which is the major power fuel in Pennsylvania.
The New York Independent System Operator, a quasi-official entity that oversees New York‘s power grid, said that price hikes are occurring statewide and the average wholesale price for electricity was 21.5 percent higher in May than a year before.
Nevertheless, the announcement sparked withering statements from local elected officials.
City Councilmember Eric Gioia said, “For Con Ed, rake hikes continue to be the first resort and not the last. Con Ed is continuing to fleece taxpayers while giving exorbitant pay packages to its executives. New Yorkers deserve better.”
According to a government filing by Con Edison in April, Kevin Burke, the utility’s chief executive, received $5.52 million in compensation last year, nearly $800,000 more than in 2006.
“It is time for Con Ed to come clean with the public and speak honestly about how it mismanages its business and hurts New Yorkers. Until then, I will continue to push for the dramatic reforms needed to change this unaccountable monopoly,” said Assemblymember Michael Gianaris.
Gianaris is also annoyed at a number of things, including that the utility giant doesn’t better explain its billing structure. He said they should have acted to cut costs when it saw where fuel prices were headed.
“People want to know, why are my bills going up when we aren’t getting the service we deserve in the first place?” he said.
Con Edison does offer a list of 100 tips for reducing energy costs, some as simple as unplugging things you aren’t using at their web site: https://www.coned.com/thepowerofgreen/100tips.asp.