Con Edison has invested $2.3 billion on infrastructure projects across New York City and Westchester County for a reliable service during summers and to help improve the region’s transition from fossil fuels to renewables.
The projects include the installation of new substation equipment, 28 underground and 69 overhead transformers regulating voltage, 938 sections of underground and overhead cable, and 241 poles.
The company is building an electric delivery system to deliver reliable clean energy from solar arrays, wind turbines and other renewable resources to support New York State’s climate goals. It is also investing in energy efficiency programs, new substations, transmission lines to carry renewable energy, incentives for electric vehicle chargers, and other measures to guide a clean energy future.
Infrastructure projects managed by Con Edison’s workforce include:
· Brooklyn: The energization of 74 new sections of underground cable to establish two new feeders and enhance reliability in Williamsburg.
· Queens: The energization of 115 sections of underground cable to support increasing demand for power in Ridgewood and Glendale; moving overhead electric delivery equipment underground in an area of Maspeth to protect it from tree damage during storms and avoid outages.
· The Bronx: Increasing distribution supplies and reconfiguring circuits so that they can carry more power to enhance reliability in the Highbridge, Claremont Village, Morrisania, Charlotte Gardens, and Soundview areas; investments in the southern Bronx to reduce supply interruptions. This will increase the delivery system’s capacity in anticipation of the electrification of vehicles and buildings.
· Staten Island: New switchgear and substation transformers, along with the reconfiguration of overhead circuits in Dongan Hills; new transformer vaults, the replacement of dozens of poles and spans of wire in the New Dorp Beach area, where the demand for power is growing; new cable, poles and manholes to serve West Brighton, Travis, Port Richmond and South Beach.
· Westchester County: Investments to improve the reliability of overhead lines in New Rochelle, Larchmont and the villages within Mount Pleasant. These improvements will allow the company’s crews to restore service more quickly during outages.
In Manhattan, Con Edison is in the final construction phase of a multi-year project to create a new electrical network and increase capacity in the Midtown West area. The company will also initiate a project to improve reliability and accommodate future load growth in Yorkville and Harlem.
The project will include the installation of 4.6 miles of cable and Con Edison has completed projects throughout the area to place overhead wiring underground.
The company plans to continue strategically moving overhead lines underground in the areas prone to tree damage during storms. It will ensure that disadvantaged communities benefit from its clean energy investments in terms of improved quality of life and climate-resilient energy infrastructure.
Over the next three years, the company has committed up to $3 million to help local organizations combat the effects of extreme heat and other weather events in disadvantaged and historically marginalized communities across the five boroughs and in Westchester County.
The company expects the demand for power to peak at 12,800 MW in summer 2024 as compared to 11,565 MW in 2023.
Con Edison is requesting customers to use energy appropriately in summer 2024 and consider enrolling in an energy efficiency program to save money and help the environment. The company expects higher bills in comparison to summer 2023 due to an increase in base delivery rates approved by the New York State Public Service Commission and a provision allowing the company to collect revenue to make up for a prior period when the company did not collect as much as expected to support investments.
· A typical New York City residential customer using 350 kWh per month can expect a 10.9 percent increase from summer 2023 and an average monthly bill of $141.06 from June to September 2024.
· A typical Westchester residential customer using 500 kWh per month can expect a 12.1 percent increase and an average monthly bill of $172.05 during the summer months.
· A typical New York City small business customer using 583 kWh per month can expect a 7 percent increase and an average monthly bill of $247.02.
· A typical New York City commercial customer using 10,800 kWh per month with a peak demand of 30 kilowatts can expect a 2.9 percent increase and an average monthly bill of $3,077.42.
Con Edison offers various rebates and incentives for low-income customers, including discounts on efficient equipment and a free, no-obligation energy assessment to help identify energy-saving offerings.
Customers receiving benefits under certain government programs are expected to qualify for discounts on their monthly bills. Also, under EnergyShare, residential customers meeting certain requirements are eligible to get up to $200 toward their bill annually per EnergyShare season.
For small businesses and non-profits, Con Edison will cover up to 70 percent of the cost to upgrade their lighting, heating and cooling, hot water, refrigeration, and building envelope.
Under extreme conditions, the company’s operators will open switches on 4 kV overhead systems in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx to prevent power from shifting from failed cables onto cables remaining in service from becoming overloaded.
Operators will make use of the smart meter system to close the flow of power in a targeted way when delivery equipment in an area is under stress. The shutoff will affect only residential customers who are served by the equipment becoming overloaded.
The temporary interruptions will help prevent larger outages taking longer time to restore. While commercial customers and critical customers will be in service, the interruptions will also not affect households registered having a resident dependent on life-support equipment.
