Factsheet and Notice of Public Hearings Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. Proposed Rate Request - Wednesday, December 11, 2019 Yonkers Public Library Afternoon Hearing - 1:00pm 1 Larkin Center Yonkers, NY 10701
Posted on: December 2, 2019 - 11:14pm
Dear Community Leader/Elected Official:
On October 18,2019, Department of Public Service Staff, Con Edison and other parties to the proceedings entered into a Joint Proposal that proposes new rate plans for Con Edison's electric and gas delivery services for three years beginning January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2022. Under New York State Law, the New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) must consider a utility's proposal and may adopt or reject it in whole or in part, or modify it by adopting changes proposed by participating parties, the general public or the Commission.
To ensure full public participation, the Commission will hold public statement hearings to solicit input and comments from your community regarding Con Edison's filing and the Joint Proposal. The enclosed fact sheet provides detailed information on how to participate at the public statement hearings and how to submit comments about the proposal. A copy of the Joint Proposal and information about the case can be found at www.dps.ny.gov. From the homepage,click on "Search," and enter the associated case number (19-E-0065 or 19-G-0066} in the "Search by Case Number" field.
I would appreciate your assistance with informing your constituents about the public statement hearings and encouraging them to provide comments. It is the Commission's intent to facilitate and encourage active and meaningful participation throughout all of its proceedings.
We hope you will consider joining us.
Sincerely,
John B. Auricchio
Director of Consumer Services
Summary of the Rate Case
On January 31, 2019, Con Edison filed for new electric and gas delivery rates to be effective beginning January 1, 2020. According to the filings, the Company's primary goals are to build the infrastructure
needed to provide safe and reliable electric and gas service at a reasonable cost while implementing new state-of-the-art technology to better serve its customers. On October 18, 2019, parties to the proceeding filed a Joint Proposal proposing a three-year rate plan for Con Edison's electric and gas delivery services beginning January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2022. The Joint Proposal recommends electric and gas delivery rates that are lower than those proposed by Con Edison in January 2019, but aim to achieve the primary goals stated in Con Edison's rate filing.
Overview of the Joint Proposal:
An electric or gas bill consists of two parts: delivery and supply. The delivery charge is the cost to transport the electricity or gas to customers throughout the utility's system. This delivery charge is regulated by the Commission. The supply charge is the cost of the electricity or gas itself, which is determined by the competitive markets and is not set by the Commission or the utility.
The Joint Proposal proposes to increase the Company's annual electric delivery revenues by approximately $113.3 million (a 4.6% increase in delivery revenues, or 3.1% increase in total revenues) in first rate year (RY1 ), $370.3 million (an 5.7% increase in delivery revenues, or 3.8% increase in total revenues) in the second rate year (RY2) and $326.4 million (a 4.7% increase in delivery revenues, or 3.3% increase in total revenues) in the third rate year (RY3). If the Commission approves the rate increases recommended in the Joint Proposal, the electric delivery revenue increase would result in an average monthly bill increase, including projected electric supply costs, of 4.2% in RY1 , 4.7% in RY2 and 4.0% in RY3 for a residential customer using 600 kWh per month.
The Joint Proposal recommends levelized increases of Con Edison's annual gas delivery revenues by approximately $47.2 million (a 10.9% increase in delivery revenues, or 6.7% increase in total revenues) during RY1, $176.3 million (a 11.4% increase in delivery revenues, or 7.3% increase in total revenues) in RY2 and $170.4 million (a 9.7% increase in delivery revenues, or 6.5% increase in total revenues) in RY 3. The recommended gas delivery revenue increase contained in the Joint Proposal would result in an average monthly bill increase, including projected electric supply costs, of 7.5% in RY1 , 8.8% in RY2 and 7.2% in RY3 for a residential heating customer using 100 therms per month.
Major Rate Case Components:
• Information Technology (IT): Funding to replace, upgrade, or install new IT related applications including the replacement of its Customer Service System, upgrade its Outage Management System, and install of a new Enterprise Geographic Information System.
• Electric and Gas Low Income Programs: Provides a discount, depending on the program, to eligible and enrolled low-income residential customers. The Company will waive reconnection fees for its low-income customers, during the terms of the Rate Plans. They wi ll also continue to automatically enrollment low-income customers into the budget billing program.
• Customer Energy Solutions Provisions: Continues to facilitate electric vehicles in New York through the SmartCharge New York and Make Ready Infrastructure programs.
• Storm Preparedness - Proposes expenditures to increase storm resilience.
In January 2019, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (Con Edison or the Company) requested that the New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) approve proposed increases to its electric and gas delivery rates. Con Edison serves approximately three and a half million customers in New York City and Westchester County. The Company's filings included documentation that Con Edison claims support increases to its electric and gas delivery rates. Once the filings were received, formal rate case proceedings were initiated. Department of Public Service (DPS) Staff began an analysis of the Company's request to evaluate whether- or to what extent- a rate increase is justified. DPS Staff represents the public interest in rate proceedings and evaluates such requests with the goal of ensuring safe and reliable service at just and reasonable rates.
On October 18, 2019, DPS Staff, Con Edison and other parties to the proceedings entered into a Joint Proposal that proposes new rate plans for Con Edison's electric and gas delivery services for three years beginning January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2022. Under New York State Law, the Commission must consider a utility's proposal and may adopt or reject it in whole or in part, or modify it by adopting changes proposed by participating parties, the general public or the Commission.
Public Statement Hearings
The Commission is seeking public comment on Con Edison's rate filings and the proposed increases to electric and gas delivery rates included in the Joint Proposal. Interested members of the public are invited to attend the public statement hearings and provide comments regarding the proposal. It is not necessary to make an appointment in advance or present written material in order to speak at the hearing.
The dates, times and locations of the hearings are as follows:
Date Location Time
- Wednesday, December 11, 2019 Yonkers Public Library Afternoon Hearing - 1:00pm 1 Larkin Center Yonkers, NY 10701
- Wednesday, December 11, 2019 SUNY Global Center Evening Hearing - 6:30pm 116 E. 551h Street New York, NY 10022
Persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations should call DPS Human Resources Management Office at 518-474-2520 as soon as possible. TDD users may request a sign language interpreter by placing a call through the New York Relay Service at 711. Individuals with difficulty reading or understanding English are encouraged to call DPS at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services.
Public Involvement
Con Edison 19-E-0065/19-G-0066
The full text of the rate case may be viewed online at DPS's www.dps.ny.gov website. From the homepage, click on "Search," and enter the case number (19-E-0065 or 19-G-0066) in the "Search by Case Number" field. The Commission strongly believes that obtaining public input is a critical component of the rate setting process. Stakeholders, such as consumers, government agencies and officials, public
interest and environmental groups, and industry representatives, are invited to participate in the process, review the proposals, and submit comments.
An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will preside over the gathering of public comments and all evidence relating to the rate requests. The Commission must consider a utility's proposal and may adopt or reject it in whole or in part or modify it by adopting changes proposed by. participating parties, the public or the Commission.
There are several ways to provide comments on the Joint Proposal.
• Via Public Statement Hearings: The Commission will hold hearings in multiple locations in Con Edison's service territory in December 2019. Interested members of the public are invited to attend the public statement hearings and provide comments regarding the proposal. Prior to the hearings an Administrative Law Judge will explain the rate case process and how individuals can participate. It is not necessary to make an appointment in advance or present written material in order to speak at the hearings.
• Via the Department's Website: Comments may also be entered directly into the case by locating the case via the home page of the Commission's website, www.dps.ny.gov, by clicking on "Search," and entering the associated case number (19-E-0065 or 19-G-0066) in the "Search by Case Number" field. After clicking to open the case, enter comments in the "Post Comments" section located at the top of the page.
• Via Mail/E-Mail: Submit comments electronically to Michelle L. Phillips, Secretary, at secretary@dps.ny.gov or by mail or delivery to Secretary Burgess at the Department of Public Service, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New·York 12223-1350. Comments delivered in these manners should reference "Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. Rate Case" (19-E-0065 and 19-G-0066)".
• Via Toll-Free Opinion Line: Individuals may choose to submit comments by calling the Commission's toll-free Opinion Line at 1-800-335-2120. This line is set up to receive instate calls 24-hours a day. Comments received via the Opinion Line are not transcribed, but a summary is provided to the Commission for their consideration.
Comments submitted via these alternative means will be accepted at any point while this proceeding is pending but are requested by December 20, 2019 to ensure full consideration. All comments will become part of the record considered by the Commission.