NEW YORK CITY—New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a Feb. 11 press conference that Con Edison’s planned electricity and gas rate increases will severely impact three million low to middle-income residents.
Con Edison is a major electricity and gas provider in New York City and the Westchester County area, serving 9 million people in the area, according to Con Edison President Matthew Ketschke.
Hochul said the proposed 11.4 percent increase in electricity rates and the 13.3 percent rise in gas prices, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, are “shocking and a real hit on families that didn’t budget for this.”
“I’m trying to put $500 back in their pockets because of the inflation rate and it’s going to right out the door to pay this bill,” Hochul said.
Beth Finkel, New York director of the American Association of Retired Persons, said at the press conference that 500,000 Con Edison customers are at least 60 days late on their payments, constituting over $1 billion in unpaid bills.
“New Yorkers are facing a crisis of affordability, from the gas pump to the grocery bills to the monthly rent, and yes, to the utility bills, the costs of daily life just keep going up and up and up.”
Hochul said people should be worried about the effects of rising prices on older retired adults.
“These are people living on fixed income,” Hochul said. “They’ve earned their wages, and now they have a finite amount of money coming in, mostly from their Social Security checks.”
The governor said she would also direct the DPS to conduct an audit of management compensation.
“A lot of people are saying, ‘Why am I paying this when they’re getting paid this much from that money?’ I want to make sure that they’re being responsible with how they use our ratepayer tax dollars,” Hochul said.
Hochul also said at the press conference that although meeting clean heat goals is a factor in the price rise, the main reason for the price increase is because of property tax increases for Con Edison.
The governor said she would look into whether the property tax increases result from efforts to meet the clean heat requirement. Regarding possibly cutting the property taxes to reduce the price, she said, “I’m not looking to give a tax break on somebody’s property taxes just to do that, because everybody else will have to make up the difference.”
A Con Edison spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the company is aware of the impact high electricity prices have on New Yorkers’ lives and is working to reduce costs.
The company’s efforts include investing $300 million in energy assistance programs for low- and moderate-income customers in 2024. The spokesperson also said that the company has obligations to fortify the power grid against increasingly extreme weather, bring renewable energy sources online, and support its maintenance and customer service workforce.
