Bronx residents hit with soaring gas delivery fees by Con Edison, investigation reveals

We have a real concern that the crushing cost of inflation has been confounded by price gouging on the part of Con Edison”

U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres

A recent investigation into Con Edison by U. S. Rep. Ritchie Torres found Bronx residents are being charged nearly 100 percent more for delivery than residents serviced by National Grid. 

There are two separate utility companies supplying New York City with its gas, Consolidated Edison and National Grid. Con Edison covers the Bronx. Manhattan, Staten Island and a section of Queens. National Grid covers the remainder of Queens and Brooklyn. 

According to Torres’ report, Con Edison is charging an average delivery rate of $1.29 in the Bronx, $1.01 in Manhattan and $.92 in Queens. National Grid is charging Queens residents an average of $.45 and Brooklyn residents an average of $.54.

The 100 percent difference comes from the comparison of price difference between the companies for Queens residents. However, when comparing the Bronx rate of $1.29 to the Queens rate of $.45 the jump is a nearly 200 percent difference for borough residents. 

Torres said this investigation stemmed from numerous complaints from his constituents in recent months, and the findings in his report left him appalled, referring to Con Edison’s explanation as absurd. He said the utility company claims they provide a superior service.

In a response from Con Edison, Elisabeth Ferrari, media relations manager, said the delivery rates vary from utility to utility, and taken into account are the level of service provided, the needs of the customer, characteristics of the delivery area, and the timing of new rates taking effect.

Officials from the state public service commission said a one-size-fits-all approach does not apply for utilities across the city. 

The delivery charge, referred to as the transmission and distribution charge by Con Edison, is the price customers pay for the company to deliver the energy to their residence safely. These delivery charges are determined by the public service commission. 

Torres said, as far as he’s concerned, the gas being delivered by National Grid is no different from the gas supplied by Con Edison and he has no reason to believe the gas being distributed to the Bronx is superior to that of any other. His investigation also included a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul and the public service commission to “crack down on the predatory price gouging.”

Torres argues the monopoly Con Edison has on boroughs like the Bronx eradicates any choice residents have for affordable utilities or any alternatives. 

“My constituents in the Bronx are at the mercy of the public service commission, which has an obligation to ensure fair and equitable pricing for all utility consumers,” Torres said.  

In July 2023, the public service commission approved Con Edison for a 9 percent delivery rate increase over the next three years. This rate hike means customers paying residential billing could be paying roughly $65 more a month by early 2025. 

Torres’s report claims the price difference has a “racially disaprate impact,” because the Bronx has a majority Latino and African-American population. 

Data reported by the New York University Furman Center found the poverty rate in the Bronx in 2022 to be the highest of the boroughs at 27.7 percent, while the city’s average as a whole was 18.3 percent. 

This means the borough statistically labeled as the poorest is being charged the highest gas delivery prices out of the five. 

According to Con Edison, the average residential customer uses 163 therms per month, bringing their bill total to $416. Torres’s report assumes an average unit usage comes to 675 therms, which would cost a rent-stabilized building of 30 units in the Bronx over $17,000.

“We have a real concern that the crushing cost of inflation has been confounded by price gouging on the part of Con Edison,” Torres said. 

The city’s community housing improvement program ran an analysis alongside The Slattery Energy Group, a Nassau County-based consultant, and found the average delivery rate for National Grid was $.60 per therm while Con Edison’s price was $1.45 per therm. 

Ferrari said, in the utility company’s movement away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy, Con Ed is investing roughly $1 billion a year to keep its gas system safe, with
projects to replace main lines, conduct leak assessments, and install gas detectors into customer’s homes and businesses. 

“We encourage reforms that reduce natural gas consumption and provide customers with clean energy altneratives,” Ferrari said. 

Torres said there is no justification for the wide price difference between Con Edison and National Grid, arguing, in theory, the two companies should be offering the same prices and he is committed to fighting on behalf of his constitutents to get more afforable and fair prices.