When New Yorkers get a sky-high energy bill, many turn to social media and vent their frustrations on Instagram, TikTok or Reddit. Recently, their rage has been directed toward a state-run website, too.
In January, the Department of Public Service, which regulates utilities, began considering a request for a rate increase by Con Edison, the energy company that serves over nine million people in New York City and Westchester County.
The proposed increase would “support clean energy investments needed to build and maintain the grid of the future,” Con Edison said in a statement. But that was cold comfort to the New Yorkers who submitted about 800 mostly irate comments on the government website in February alone.
“Our ConEd bill has already spiked to over $500 for a 1 BEDROOM Apartment this January to February,” wrote one typical customer. “Please do something about this and vote no more increases!”
The backlash to the proposed rates — which called for an 11.4 percent increase for electricity and 13.3 percent for gas — illustrated what could be a thorny issue for decades to come: persuading New Yorkers to absorb some of the cost of the state’s transition to green energy.
Many utility customers are in favor of upgrading the power grid in pursuit of the state’s renewable energy goals, but many also appear to be balking at paying more.
“I support the goals of infrastructure improvement and clean energy transition, but we must find a more balanced approach that doesn’t place such a heavy financial burden on consumers,” wrote Deena Lettas, 33, from Astoria, Queens, in one posted comment.
Ms. Lettas, who works in public policy, summed up the challenges that lie ahead as New York, in adherence to its 2019 climate law, weans off fossil fuels while electrifying buildings and cars. The shift puts more pressure on the state’s aging grid, which is also facing surging demand from energy-hungry tech ventures like chip manufacturing, data centers and cryptocurrency mines.
Over the next 20 years, electricity demand could increase 50 to 90 percent, according to a report by the New York Independent System Operator, which oversees the state’s power grid. The same report projects that the grid’s capacity must triple by 2042, which is two years after the deadline for meeting the state’s zero-emissions target.
Paying for such an undertaking involves delicate negotiations among energy companies, their customers and the state government.
Many utilities like Con Edison must build out their electric grids while maintaining and updating gas systems, investments that some environmental advocates and municipal planners say are at odds.
Con Edison’s proposed hikes could mean gas bill increases (estimated at about $46 for a typical account) that are triple those of electricity (about $14). This is partly because the demand for gas is predicted to decline, which means the company would pay for crucial maintenance with less money coming in, a spokeswoman said. Utilities call this dynamic “the death spiral.”
Energy bills can surge from season to season for a number of reasons. During the summer, air-conditioners work at full tilt, and during the winter, gas-fueled heat cranks up. Several economic factors, like inflation and the fluctuating price of fuel and electricity, also affect costs.
But a larger burden is increasingly being placed on ratepayers because of the need to upgrade the infrastructure for both electricity and gas systems. The costs of these projects show up in a bill’s delivery charges.
A Con Edison spokeswoman added that delivery charges also include property taxes on energy infrastructure, which are estimated to cost over $3 billion in 2026. The company is interested, she said, in working with policymakers to redirect that revenue toward bill relief or clean energy programs.
Paul Feiner, the town supervisor of Greenburgh, N.Y., wrote on the public service website that the “inflated delivery charges” were “debilitating my constituents, many of whom are seniors and/or lower income and cannot afford to pay their ever-escalating energy bills.”
The economic effects of global warming are touching almost every aspect of life now, environmental experts say.
“Climate change is already affecting us all financially, through higher property insurance premiums, medical costs, costs of agricultural products and groceries at our supermarkets, and of course taxes,” said Kenneth Gillingham, a professor of environmental and energy economics at Yale University.
For New York City residents who are already grappling with an affordability crisis, costly energy bills are one of many economic stressors.
“Any more increases in rates will drive people out of this city,” wrote Sophia Twyman, 26, on the public service website. “It adds extra hundreds, if not thousands to annual rent,” she continued.
Ms. Twyman works in advertising and lives with two other young women in a Manhattan walk-up. Over the winter, their gas and electricity bills shot up to over $500, from around $200 in the fall.
The Public Service Department, along with other key players like consumer groups, scrutinizes each proposal to change rates. It takes into account written testimony and holds public hearings, while regulators examine a utility’s books to identify ways to cut costs.
At the end of this process, which takes at least 11 months, a bipartisan board appointed by the governor will consider whether to approve new rates. If Con Edison’s are approved, they should show up on bills in 2026. The final rates tend to be much lower than what was originally requested, a department spokesman said. In 2023, Con Edison’s request was reduced by 60 percent.
According to a 2022 state report, New York’s energy transition could cost between $270 and $295 billion, but the health and economic benefits associated with lower greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to be valued at about $400 billion.
Several political leaders and climate activists are pushing for legislation that would both speed the clean energy transition along and address affordability issues.
The New York HEAT Act would allow utilities to offer geothermal or electrification services instead of automatically providing gas hookups, as is currently required. It would also direct the state to develop a plan to cap energy bills at six percent of a household’s salary.
Although state assistance is available for low-income New Yorkers, there are still over a million households that are behind on paying their bills, said Laurie Wheelock, the executive director of the Public Utility Law Project, an advocacy group.
In December, over 1,383,000 energy bills were in arrears in New York, amounting to more than $1.8 billion in money owed to utilities, according to government data compiled by the project. Of that, Con Edison was owed almost $950,000.
Mary Bove, 68, a retiree who lives with her husband in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, strives to conserve energy, she wrote on the public service website. “I have done everything I can to manage expenses,” she wrote. “I keep my thermostat at 63 day, 58 night. Limit my electric usage.” Still, her bills are soaring, she said.
If paying higher bills means that she is doing her part to fund more resilient infrastructure, then she would like for utilities to provide her and other customers with specific details on major projects, as well as a timeline and an expected return on investment, she said.
“Then maybe we could justify the rates,” she said. “But do I have an alternative? I do not.”