Because of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruling that will impose an unnecessary 12% Con Ed rate hike (a typical $74 apartment bill would go up $12), Governor Andrew Cuomo is getting involved. The Post reports that he "will introduce legislation 'within the next few days' permitting the city to guarantee permanent property-tax abatements to local electric-generating companies, removing the basis for a little-noticed FERC decision that could hike electric rates by $500 million a year." Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto said, "This is a common-sense fix for a problem that could cost New York rate-payers hundreds of millions of dollars per year." more ›

Now that a federal ruling has raised the amount that power generators can get, which would then result in a 12% rate hike for Con Ed customers, on top of another previously-scheduled 4% rate hike, we need a hero to stop this madness. And Senator Charles Schumer is signing up for hero duty: Schumer told the Post that he spoke to the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, "I told him how upset we were about FERC's decision, and how we thought they left out some very key information, and about how we wanted a rehearing. He said there will definitely be a rehearing." more ›

Thanks to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Ruling, Con Edision will be raising its rates by 12% this summer. According to NY1, "That's on top of another four percent state-approved ConEd rate hike. The typical apartment electric bill averages $74 but that will go up $12 from last summer. Businesses can expect a nearly 18 percent increase on their bill." Okay, start praying we don't have another heat wave. more ›

Facing dire financial issues, the United States Postal Service has proposed raising the cost of a first class stamp another 2 cents to 46 cents. According to the Wall Street Journal, "If approved by regulators, the increase to 46 cents for a standard letter would go into effect Jan. 2 and be the seventh increase in a decade. As of Jan. 7, 2001, the cost of a stamp was 34 cents." more ›

Con Edison won approval from the Public Service Commission, the state agency that oversees utilities, to rise its rates 12% over three years. The NY Times reports, "Con Ed estimated that the increases would raise a typical household bill, now about $84 a month, to more than $94 a month in 2012." This first hike will take effect next month, and the average household's monthly bill will go up by $3.63 (the rates are a little higher in Westchester and a little lower for businesses). more ›

Shocking. Con Ed reportedly charges the highest residential rates of any major utility in the 48 contiguous states. The only people who pay more live in Alaska, Hawaii, Fishers and Block Islands. more ›

Last month, the Public Service Commission approved a 2010 Con Ed rate hike that would result in about a $6/month increase in a residential customer's bill. Now, the utility is asking for rate hikes in 2011 and 2012 because Con Ed doesn't think the first hike will do enough, given its rising costs. One plan calls for a hike of about $6.48/month for residential customers while another proposes a $8/month hike. This isn't sitting well with Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), who says, "Just last month Con Ed was handed over $700 million in rate hikes, and already it has its hand out again. Con Ed fiddles while homes explode and blackouts and electrocutions become routine. This unaccountable monopoly does not deserve one cent in additional rate hikes until it reforms its practices and changes the way it does business." more ›

The State Public Service Commission approved a one-year increase for Con Ed electricity rates that will translate to a $6/month increase for NYC customers and $8/month for Westchester customers—plus another surcharge for other assessments, which give Con Ed about $721 million. Half that amount is for higher property taxes. The NY Times reports that the commission asked the utility to take "cost-cutting measures" but Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) blasted the decision, "As long as the Public Service Commission aids and abets Con Edison's game of perpetual rate hikes, the people of New York will continue to suffer from sky-high rates and substandard service. " And Con Ed, which had asked for $819 million, wasn't happy either, “Since most of a customer’s bill is used to pay supply costs and government taxes, it is troubling that the only costs being slashed in today’s P.S.C. decision are the funds used to maintain the system and provide reliable service." Update: Per a commenter, the Post suggests electricity rates will be this summer. We'll investigate. more ›

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection is proposing a 14% hike to water and sewer rates, which would, according to the AP, raise an average single-family home's fees from $799 to $911 annually. Why? The DEP says there are higher operating costs and lower consumption from New Yorkers, not to mention the 5% budget cuts the city is forcing on agencies. Acting DEP Commissioner Steve Lawitts said, "We know an increase of any size is never easy - especially now." The Water Board will decide on whether to enact a hike later this spring. More details on water and sewer bills here and in 2007, the rate was raised 11.5%. more ›

Those high natural gas and oil prices have raised the prices for wholesale electricity that Con Ed buys from power-generating companies, and naturally the company is passing those expenses along to us. The company says that residential customers will pay 22% more for electricity this year than they did last summer – almost a quarter of that spike is due to a Bloomberg-approved rate hike. more ›

New Yorkers can walk the streets--and their pets--with renewed confidence this winter. Con Ed is reporting that one's chance of electrocution via stray voltage is down more than 20%, based upon their most recent survey. Of course, being electrocuted while walking around is a very remote possibility, although it does happen, especially in winter, when salt water and slushy water become simultaneously a corrosive agent and an effective conductor of electricity. The utility recorded only 295 accounts of people being shocked last year, versus 378 the prior year. That's a 22% reduction. more ›

Notwithstanding a massive steam explosion that horribly burned some New Yorkers and shut down a large section of midtown Manhattan for weeks, neighborhood blackouts that have left thousands in the dark and without air conditioning in the heat of summer, and occasional stray voltage leaks that have electrocuted people and pets, Mayor Bloomberg feels that Con Ed is doing a decent job and customers should be willing to pay extra each month to the utility. Aides insist that Bloomberg wasn't formally endorsing a $1.2 billion rate hike, which would boost customers' bills by an average of 17%. He was just pointing out that the company doesn't make that much money and that it needs additional funds to upgrade the city's energy infrastructure. more ›