Following Storm Isaias on Aug. 4, widespread power outages left thousands of Bronxites in the dark. Several days later, many residents still didn’t have their power restored. Blackouts and delayed service from Con Edison, which operates as a near-monopoly in the five boroughs, are not new according to Public Advocate Jumanne Williams.

 

Williams recently released a report calling for a public power system for New York City to control its own electrical grid moving forward. Williams says public power would bring greater transparency and lower electricity rates to residents, and it has also shown to be more reliable than private utilities like Con Edison.

 

The report makes a series of recommendations. “Since New York State has a deregulated energy policy regime, our approach will need to be two-fold, including both city-wide and state-wide regulatory changes,” the report read. “First, we need legislative action that will move to condemn the section of the transmission and distribution (T&D) grid that covers the city of New York. A municipal or state bond will then have to be issued to buy the condemned grid assets from Con Edison (ConEd).”

 

It continued, “Second, we will need to ensure a just and expeditious transition to a renewable energy future. We must also ensure the transition is cost-effective. To maximize both, we should look to our already existing public utility, the New York Power Authority (NYPA), and expand their authority into development of renewable generation development and ownership. Their ready access to cheap capital through bond issuing will help keep costs down and their public ownership will keep the value generated by the assets in the public coffers. This will cut out the waste of needing to continuously pay out dividends. Further, whenever New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) identifies a need for new capacity, that NYPA must be given a first pass option to develop it themselves before putting out a general Request for Proposal (RFP) to the private sector.”

 

It concluded, “Lastly, we must ban Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) from operating in the city and state or restrict them by law to conform to the recent New York Public Service Commission (PSC) restrictions and limit their customers to the Community Choice Aggregation market.”

 

The public advocate said several cities across the country – including Austin and Los Angeles – have started the process of bringing public power to the people.

 

“In New York City and across the country, we need to continue pushing for bold ideas that meet the scope of our challenges,” Williams said.

 

Meanwhile, Con Edison will present its ESG (environmental, social and governance) presentation via a webcast on Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time followed by a question and answer session.

 

Presenters from the company’s senior leadership will include:

 

• John McAvoy, Chairman, President and CEO, Consolidated Edison, Inc., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.
• Timothy Cawley, President, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.
• Robert Sanchez, President and Chief Executive Officer, Orange & Rockland Utilities, Inc.
• Robert Hoglund, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Consolidated Edison, Inc. and Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.
• Mary Kelly, Senior Vice President, Corporate Shared Services, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.

 

The live webcast and replay will be available at https://wsw.com/webcast/cc/ed2. The link will be posted at the Con Edison Investor Relations website at https://investor.conedison.com/presentations-webcasts.

 

According to a press release, Consolidated Edison, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest investor-owned, energy-delivery companies, with approximately $13 billion in annual revenues and $59 billion in assets.

 

The company provides a wide range of energy-related products and services to its customers through a number of subsidiaries.