MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. - Had Con Ed executives and stockholders been at a recent Mount Kisco forum on their company’s proposed double-digit rate increases, they would have gotten quite an earful --not only from incensed customers and politicians fighting for their constituents, but from some of its own workers as well.
About 50 people attended the Westchester County Board of Legislators’ sixth and final public input session on Con Ed’s proposed rate hike, which was held on Aug. 16.
The intent was to gather comments to send to the Public Service Commission, which is reviewing Con Ed’s rate hike request as well as one from New York State Electric & Gas, a subsidiary of of the energy services giant Avangrid.
(NYSE&G sessions will take place this fall.)
BOL Chairman Vedat Gashi said Con Ed had been invited but had told the county that “There’s a PSC hearing and we’re going to just stick to that. So, basically, no thank you.”
While these sessions aren’t “standard procedure,” legislators felt it was important to pursue “every possible means to ensure that the concerns of Westchester residents are heard,” Gashi said.
Much criticism has been aimed at Con Ed’s executive pay, its 10 percent guaranteed return on improvement projects, and its asking residential customers to foot the cost of commercial infrastructure projects.
Most infuriating is the delivery charge, which often surpasses actual usage.
The utility wants to up electric bills by 11.4 percent and gas bills by 13.3 percent, which could mean an extra $300 per month for customers.
NYSE&G proposes to increase delivery rates by 35 percent for electricity and 39.4 percent for gas.
Con Ed said it’s seeking $1.6 billion more in electric revenue and $440 million in gas revenue “to fund the investments necessary for a safe and reliable clean energy future.”
Avangrid needs the money to modernize the grid and customer service systems, to enable the utility to comply with state policies, and to cover “legacy storm costs in arrears.”
Con Ed has millions of customers in Westchester and New York City. Based on figures given to the PSC, thousands of them are already unable to pay their utility bills. As of January, more than 400,000 residential customers were at least two months behind and 130,000 had received termination notices.
Several speakers in Mount Kisco declared that the absence of the Con Ed reps at the discussion wasn’t going stop them from delivering this message: Seeking significant increases while many working families, seniors, and mom-and-pop businesses are struggling to pay electricity and gas bills now is “unconscionable,” “unacceptable,” and “shameful.”
No one seemed to disagree that infrastructure must be maintained or that companies are entitled to make “reasonable” profits, but to do that on the backs of consumers who are basically a captive audience simply isn’t going to fly.
Especially sticking in their craws was that Con Ed CEO Timothy P. Cawley had earned $15 million in compensation -- including stock incentives and pension benefits -- in 2024. In 2023, he pulled in $16 million.
Calling that kind of money “egregious” in light of the economy, Gov. Kathy Hochul urged the PSC to probe the way Con Ed pays management.
Con Ed defended its CEO’s compensation, saying that it’s paid by shareholders not customers.
“Most of the compensation for our top executives depends on our company meeting specific performance goals, meaning that the variable compensation is not guaranteed,” a spokesperson said last week.
The metrics applied include safety, reliability, and customer experience and the pay is in line, the utility has said, with other CEO salaries in the metropolitan area.
Its compensation structure ties management, employee, and CEO pay to performance, according to a Con Ed spokesperson, who added: “We’re proud to be recognized as the most reliable electric utility in the country for 2024.”
Sweaters Won't Help
Speakers yearned for the days when they could keep utility bills in check by turning the thermostat down and throwing on extra socks and a sweater in the winter or by forgoing air conditioning in the summer.
But those tactics don’t work on delivery charges, which can be much higher than supply costs.
“Supply” is the price of electricity and gas itself, something that’s affected by market conditions and supplier choice, while “delivery” pays for infrastructure, grid maintenance, and upgrades.
The latter is the only part of the equation utilities are allowed to make profits on, said County Legislator Erika L. Pierce.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing your down parka in the house, if the delivery charge is the thing that’s impossible for you to pay, you could have your thermostat off and you’re still going to get that same bill,” she explained. “That’s how broken this situation is.”
North Castle’s Barbara DiGiacinto pointed out that from August 2023 to January 2025 Con Ed had already gotten rate hikes amounting to 14.7 percent for electricity and 21.7 percent for gas.
“I find this unacceptable, unconscionable. It’s just that drip, drip, drip that you don’t understand under you start doing a little research,” she said, adding disgustedly: “And now they want more.”
Con Ed Response
Con Ed responded to the points raised at the input session with the following statement:
“Con Edison is committed to balancing stakeholder priorities while delivering safe, reliable power. We are encouraged by the active review of our investment plan by all stakeholders and the ongoing discussions about our shared energy future. Our proposed investments will continue to fortify the grid against severe weather, support the state’s clean energy goals, enable our workforce to maintain the grid and respond swiftly to customer needs. Our 14,000 employees are dedicated to safely delivering the nation’s most reliable power while using our resources as efficiently as possible.”
Union Speaks Out
Among those stepping up to the mic in August was Frank Morales, president of Utility Workers Union of America, Local 1-2, Con Ed’s source of frontline workers in Westchester and New York City and also a party in the rate case.
Surrounded by a sea of red-shirted union members, he lambasted the company’s request for funding for IT upgrades.
During the last round, Con Ed got money for a new payroll system that union members sarcastically refer to as the “Trash Hub” because of malfunctions that result in their getting paid late or not at all.
Morales pointed out that Con Ed had recently been ordered to enact sweeping reforms after the state attorney general found management had fostered a “culture of discrimination and harassment” against women employees and employees of color.
Therefore, Con Ed shouldn’t be asking ratepayers to “fund their bonuses,” he said.
Morales slammed Con Ed’s request for money to reinstall cameras inside its trucks and vans in order to monitor worker performance.
“But you know what they’re NOT telling ratepayers? They already got the money for this program in prior rate cases,” he said, claiming that it was “a complete failure” because it didn’t reduce accidents or improve driver safety.
“Instead, they were a distraction, activating every time vehicles hit potholes or had to brake suddenly,” Morales said.
He urged legislators to tell Con Ed: “Enough is enough, stop bleeding the ratepayers dry and fighting this union every chance you get.”
Con Ed responded to Morales’ stand on the cameras by saying: “The vehicle safety program mentioned is best practices for utility companies and transport companies across the nation. They provide benefits for the drivers, public and company.”
Mayor J. Michael Cindrich assured Con Ed’s boots-on-the-ground folks that the beef wasn’t with them.
“Thank you guys for being here; I don’t think any of you are making as much money as your CEO,” he joked.
Cindrich opined that the Indian Point nuclear plant’s closing left gaps in the energy arena that alternative sources such as solar and wind might not be able to fill.
But it’s not like Albany’s not trying, he allowed, referring to the Champlain Hudson Power Express, a transmission line developed in anticipation of New York’s transition from fossil fuel to 70 percent renewable energy by 2030.
Once online, CHPE will deliver hydropower from Quebec to the New York City metropolitan area.
Cindrich called it “something significant” that was accomplished by the state government.
He favored the PSC’s reducing any increases and placing the “burden” of proof on Con Ed's shoulders.
Village Trustee Tom Luzio was disappointed that Mount Kisco had not joined the Westchester Municipal Coalition as a party in the Con Ed case like “every other municipality in Westchester.”
(Mount Kisco and Verplanck were the only two municipalities served by Con Ed in Westchester that sat out. Bedford and Yorktown are also in Con Ed territory. Lewisboro, Pound Ridge, North Salem, and Somers are served by NYSE&G.)
In April, the Village Board was presented with a resolution authorizing the hiring of Mount Kisco lawyer Joel Dichter as special counsel to represent coalition participants.
His bill would have been capped at $100,000 and split among members. It would have cost the village $2,605 to ante up.
“It’s not a lot of money, but there’s a principle involved here,” Cindrich said, adding he was “disappointed with the PSC” which seems like “just another agency that goes along to get along.”
While he had confidence in the county attorney’s abilities, Cindrich thought hiring Dichter would be a “worthwhile investment.”
Deputy Mayor Theresa Flora commented that "it may be a small amount of money, but it’s still money."
Village Manager Ed Brancati said the measure aimed to “make sure that it’s (the rate hike’s) not a penny more than it needs to be.”
Luzio made the motion to pass the resolution. No one seconded it and the board went to the next item on its agenda.
Mount Kisco resident Judith Sage feared for people’s lives.
A former political leader who’s knocked on lots of doors, she’s gotten to know many older and disabled folks living in multi-family housing where options are limited.
Air-conditioning's too expensive and fans are “pretty useless,” she said, noting that not all are mobile and able to get to cooling centers.
“That vulnerable residents could actually die in the heat is unconscionable,” Sage said.
Calling Con Ed the epitome of a “monopoly” – meaning it has “no competition” and is selling a product “that everyone must buy” – she pointed out that its CEO owns $10 million in company stock “that goes up in value with every rate hike.”
To her, “this is close to moblike and has nothing to do with free-market capitalism.”
An outraged Legislator Emiljana Ulaj pointed out that Con Ed reported in January that it’d increased dividends for the 46th year in a row. Actually -- according to Con Ed CFO Kirk Andrews -- it was 51 years, a record for “any utility in the S&P 500 index.”
“Meanwhile, people are struggling to make ends meet, having to make terrible decisions about what to pay to just get by and they are bragging about increasing dividends to shareholders? Shameful,” Ulaj said.
Comments Sought
The PSC is accepting written statements through November.
Comments can be sent to the BOL by visiting https://westchesterlegislators.com and clicking on the Con Ed Public Input Sessions tab and/or submitted to the PSC by visiting dps.ny.gov, clicking on the “post comments” link, and entering 25-E-0375 for electric and 25-G-0378 for gas in the search box.
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