Harckham Opposes Con Ed Rate Hikes in Letter to PSC

New York State Senator Pete Harckham notified the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) today that he is opposed to the proposed double-digit rate hike that Con Ed has requested for customers in Westchester County and New York City, effective January 1, 2026.

 The Con Ed rate hike for its 3.4 million electric customers in the region would increase, on average, 11.4%, while its 1.1 million gas customers would see their charges jump, on average, 13%. In total, Con Ed is hoping the rate hike increases its revenue by $2.2 billion.

Harckham made known his opposition to the rate hikes in a letter sent to the PSC earlier today. The state had approved a 13% rate increase over three years for Con Ed’s electric customers in 2023.

“At a time when many New Yorkers are struggling financially, dealing with inflation and trying to stretch their paychecks just to pay for the basics, it is just ludicrous for Con Ed to expect that these rate hikes would be rubber stamped for approval,” said Harckham. “Regardless of its rationale for needing to increase revenue, at this time residents cannot be expected to come up with money that many simply don’t have to spend.”

In his letter, Harckham writes, “Residents of my district already pay some of the highest utility bills in the nation. It is unacceptable to burden them with increasingly unaffordable rates at a time when they are already facing higher costs for everyday essentials, such as food, medicine, and fuel for their vehicles.”

Harckham notes that rate hike increases are necessary to fund network resiliency improvements that will help protect the grid from the severe weather New York is experiencing now, the result of climate change.

“It certainly makes sense to build a strong and reliable power grid as we face increasing volatile and severe weather,” agrees Harckham, but “…consumers should not have to bear the full brunt of paying for those improvements, especially if they are facing increased costs almost everywhere else.”

Both Harckham’s Albany office and his district office in Peekskill have received hundreds of calls in the past several weeks from constituents complaining that they cannot afford to pay the already skyrocketing supply charges that the utilities pass along—and this was before Con Ed’s rate hike increases were announced.