Pols Question Con Ed Rate Hikes Amid Blackout Worries

NEW YORK — Politicians questioned Consolidated Edison's plan to raise power rates Friday amid concerns about the utility's ability to handle the heat wave sweeping New York City.

Money from previous rate hikes apparently did not shore up Con Ed's infrastructure enough to prevent last weekend's massive Manhattan blackout, which does not bode well for the sweltering weekend ahead, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and state Sen. Robert Jackson said.

"We are in the middle of a heat wave and all across this city we have no idea if Con Edison is going to be able to live up to the challenge," Williams, a Democrat, said at a news conference near the site of Saturday's power failure.

Con Ed proposed changes to its rates in January that would increase monthly electric and gas bills by nearly 6 percent in 2020. The hikes would generate an extra $485 million to support the utility's electric system and $210 million for the gas system, the company has said.

But Williams questioned the necessity of the increases, saying Con Ed has already gotten money to invest in its infrastructure while raking in $1 billion in yearly profits. He pointed to a Thursday NBC New York report that said the utility scrapped a plan to spend $350 million bolstering its relay protection system, which it blamed for the huge Manhattan outage.

"We are at a point where we really cannot trust Con Edison and they cannot keep asking for rate hikes if they cannot guarantee that their equipment will be up to par with the needs of New York City," Williams said.

Williams sent Con Ed a letter Friday asking whether the utility inspected the West Side substation responsible for last week's blackout and why it delayed upgrades there. Officials should threaten to revoke the company from operating in the city if it cannot answer such tough questions, Williams said.

Jackson, a Washington Heights Democrat, said New Yorkers and elected officials alike want more "transparency" and "accountability" from the power company.

"First you have to account for what you already have, and that’s not what’s happening right now," he said.

Con Ed officials have emphasized that neither heat nor an excess demand for power contributed to Saturday's blackout, which left more than 70,000 customers in the dark. The company told NBC that it has spent at least $215 million since 2009 on upgrades to its relay protection system.

But heat and thunderstorms knocked out power for nearly 17,000 customers in the city and Westchester County from Wednesday into Thursday, according to a Con Ed press release.

In response to Williams's letter, Con Ed spokesperson Allan Drury said the company disclosed its preliminary findings for the Manhattan outage within 48 hours of restoring power and will share more information as its probe continues.

"We are focused today and through the weekend on keeping service reliable," Drury said in an email, adding that Con Ed invests $1.5 billion in its electric delivery system annually.

Company President Tim Cawley sought to assure New Yorkers Friday that the company can handle the weekend's stifling temperatures, which are expected to make the city feel as hot as 111 degrees.

The utility says it will have 4,000 extra workers standing by to help keep the lights over the weekend. And Cawley said the system has plenty of capacity to handle the demand for power.

"The redundancy that we have on this system allows us to deliver very highly reliable service," he told reporters. "By any measure we are the most reliable electric delivery system in the United States."