WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. By John F. Bailey. January 10, 2008 UPDATED 11:10 A.M. EST: County Executive Andrew Spano charged today that Con Edison is proposing a rate hike of 33% on all customers, which would accumulate to a 60% increase over the next three years, and according to WPCNR calculations a 16% increase in a consumer's overall bill. He urged residents, business owners and officials to speak out against the increase which he called "by no means just and reasonable."
Using the county's automatic dialing system, the County Executive in a recorded message is reaching out this morning to urge residents to attend a Public Service Commission hearing next Wednesday at 4:30 and 6:30 PM at the Westchester County Center to speak against the Con Edison proposed rate hike requested last year of $1.9 Billion. WPCNR is awaiting press releases from Con Edison on the schedule and estimates on the effect of average homeowner's bill. The Con Edison press office has declined at this time to comment or to estimate how much the hike would cost the consumer
Con Edision spent $1.4 Billion in upgrades to their Westchester New York City infrastructure in 2006-2007 in an effort to meet the rising demands of the metropolitan area , which produced a summer of no major brownouts or blackouts --(except in the cases where storms brought down powerlines). Of that $1.4 Billion, $700 Million was spent in Westchester County alone for new cable, new transformers and monitoring equipment, according to the Con Edision Press Office in a report by WPCNR last summer.
What does a 33% hike in the delivery portion of the bill mean? On a $160 electric bill, you are charged about $70 for "Delivering" electricity. Your bill would increase $25, which would produce a 16% increase in your overall bill monthly.
WPCNR has just received an e-mail from the County Executive declaring Westchester resides face a 33% increase in the delivery portion of the bill the e-mail reads:
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Westchester County |
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Andrew J. Spano,
County Executive |
January 8, 2008
Dear Con Edison Customer:
I am writing to alert you to the pending $1.9 billion three-year rate increase that Con Edison is proposing for the delivery of electricity and to encourage you to make your voice known at a Public Statement hearing that the Public Service Commission will be conducting on January 16th.
The proposal from Con Edison calls for an increase of approximately 33% on the delivery portion of its bills in the first year alone. This would apply to all electric residential customers as well as businesses, non-profits, and governments in the Con Edison territory—irrespective of whether electricity is purchased from some other supplier. Undoubtedly, this will have a huge impact on the electric bills that your business, school, and government agency will receive beginning April 1st.
I directed that testimony be filed against this increase this past September and will take advantage of the hearing on the 16th to once again make my position known. The January 16th Public Statement hearing will be held in two sessions, 4:30 and 6:30, at the Westchester County Center. I urge you to attend either session and make your voice heard as well. It is crucial that the Public Service Commission (PSC) hear directly from Con Edison customers in Westchester County.
I believe this is the largest rate increase ever proposed by Con Edison—a company that already has the highest electricity rates of any investor-owned utility in the continental United States and one which has been plagued by outages and communications issues.
Con Edison is now asking ratepayers to pay a cumulative increase of more than 60% in delivery fees over three years when the general inflation rate is approximately 2% a year. By no measure is this “just and reasonable,” the standard the PSC has long used in setting new rates. Conventional wisdom says that the PSC will reduce the requested rate, but I believe that nothing less than an 80% reduction is acceptable. (Frankly, no increase is acceptable but under PSC guidelines, utilities are allowed a “reasonable rate of return.”)
If you cannot attend the hearing, you can send an e-letter voicing your opinion by going to the “Contact Us” link at http://www.AskPSC.com or call the PSC opinion hotline at (800) 335-2120 before February 8th. To learn more about the Con Edison case, please visit the County’s website: www.westchestergov.com. To obtain more information about the January 16th Public Statement hearing, please contact Annie Huang at (914) 995-2913.
Sincerely,
Andrew J. Spano
County Executive
