December 31, 2013

“Today the City agreed to a settlement that will keep money in the pockets of New Yorkers while also helping to protect the City from future storms. The settlement will ensure Con Edison's electric, gas and steam rates for the next three years stay virtually at their current levels while also ensuring Con Edison will make resiliency investments that are necessary to harden our critical power infrastructure against the impacts of climate change. Incorporating climate risks into utility planning and rate-setting was a key initiative in A Stronger, More Resilient New York, our blueprint to protect New York City from future storms. Today's settlement achieves that goal--thanks to unprecedented research and analysis by Sergej Mahnovski and our entire PlaNYC team. We showed Con Ed and the Public Service Commission where the power grid is vulnerable and what needs to be done about it, and they listened. I commend Con Edison for their willingness to make resiliency and storm hardening a priority. Today's settlement will also advance critical City goals that were established in PlaNYC. Such measures as heightened support for oil to gas conversions, more favorable service terms for electric vehicles, and the wider incorporation of distributed generation on the Con Edison system will improve both energy efficiency and air quality. I strongly urge the Public Service Commission to approve this settlement so that the hard work of implementing it can begin."