Huge Con Edison Bills Shock NYC: 'I Wanted To Really Cry'

NEW YORK CITY — When Karen Harper opened her January utility bills, her heart sank. She owed Con Edison a total of $602.31.

Harper, a retired teacher on the Upper East Side, asked herself how she'd pay a bill three times higher than normal on her fixed income. She wondered what appliance — was it the electric heater? — drew so much power.

“I wanted to really cry,” she said.

Harper isn't alone.

New Yorkers across the city opened their latest Con Edison bills this month to find they had doubled, tripled or more. Many took to Twitter to complain directly to @ConEdison about the massive monthly hike — an increase that utility reps blamed on factors beyond their control.

A Con Edison spokesperson told Patch the increase comes down to rising costs for natural gas, which is used to create electricity in the utility's plants.

"Con Edison does not make a profit on the commodity," the spokesperson said in a statement. "We buy the energy on the wholesale market and provide it to customers at the same price we paid. Energy prices are volatile and can be affected by factors such as weather, demand, and economic trends."

But the increase still rankles Michael Fisher, a popular Brooklyn-based YouTuber known as "TheMrMobile," who tweeted he "nearly choked" when his monthly bill jumped from roughly $300 to nearly $900.

Fisher said he'll eat the cost, which he shares with roommates, but he worried about other New Yorkers like Harper. On a widely read Twitter thread, he shared a smorgasbord of tweets from irate Con Edison customers who also felt "absolutely gouged" by the utility.

“It’s an inconvenience to people like me, but it’s downright dangerous for people who are not fortunate enough to be as financially well off as the rest of us,” he said.

The surge in prices hasn't escaped the notice of elected officials such as Emily Gallagher, a state Assembly member who represents Williamsburg and surrounding Brooklyn neighborhoods.

Gallagher tweeted her office fielded nearly a dozen calls about ConEd bills. She noted the utility's bills are driven by supply, delivery and taxes.

Natural gas prices — which constitute "supply" — recently spiked by a record 70 percent, she noted with a link to a Reuters report.

"A cold winter, a surge in demand, tensions with Russia: all impact the price of natural gas," she tweeted.

"And while many of these forces are outside of ConEd's control, they should have been better prepared and more transparent with customers."

Another factor Gallagher pointed out is that the decommissioning of Indian Point's nuclear power plant shifted New York's energy production toward burning natural gas.

Assembly Member Zohran Kwame Mamdani, who also received many constituent calls from Astoria about the bills, encouraged people to press for a 100 percent renewable power grid. He tweeted a link to an online talk Thursday at 12 p.m. hosted by Public Power NYC that will discuss, among other topics, how gas prices spiked the bills.

"We’re working w/ @ConEdison in the short-term, but in the long-term we need a power grid that’s accountable to us," Mamdani tweeted.

In the short term, ConEd customers in New York City can make complaints to the Department of Public Service here — a step that Gallagher encouraged and Fisher undertook.

To Fisher, the matter is simple: a utility shouldn't be allowed to burden customers with a surprise increase.

"It stopped my day,” he said.

Harper said she worked out a "level payment plan" with Con Edison — a step that can be explored here, along with other assistance options.

But she's still shaken by the experience. Harper worries about other unforeseen "rip off charges" and outlets drawing outside power without her knowledge.

“It’s been so irksome, it’s been so annoying,” she said. “It’s like I didn’t need this to start my day today."