Wall Street Journal –– A public battle between Consolidated Edison Inc., the staff of a bipartisan state commission and Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s administration is playing out in regulatory filings—and hanging in the balance is the cost of utilities for millions of customers in 2014.ConEd is asking for $450.9 million in new revenue from customers next year in filings before the state Public Service Commission, which will make the final ruling in the case.The company’s proposal, which comes on the heels of three years of nearly level electric bills and gas bills that declined due to lower natural gas prices, would boost typical New York City electric bills by 4% and increase gas bills by 1.5%.
While it isn’t unusual for the PSC staff to challenge ConEd’s rate proposals, it is rare for them to actually propose a rate cut. The PSC staff says that because of low interest rates on ConEd’s borrowing, the utility can cut its rates while still providing its investors a fair return.
