Redistricting is back in New York. Here's what's next.
And lawmakers clashed with Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration Thursday over new Con Ed rates.
Good afternoon — It’s Thursday and Hot Sauce Day.
In today’s CapCon:
Redistricting has been ordered by a state judge to reopen in New York. Here’s what’s next, including the potential outcomes of that decision.
State lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration clashed over new rate hikes approved Thursday by Con Edison.
The NYGOP headquarters in Albany was broken into Wednesday night.
A bill to raise New York’s short-term disability benefit to provide paid medical leave has a new sponsor.
Names in today’s CapCon: Kathy Hochul, Rory Christian, James Alesi, Shelley Mayer, Robert Jackson, Nathalia Fernandez, Chris Burdick, Dana Levenberg, MaryJane Shimsky, Will Barclay, Jeffrey Pearlman, Nicole Malliotakis, Marc Elias, Dan Goldman, Brad Lander, Zohran Mamdani, Michaelle Solages, Harry Bronson, Rana Abdelhami
🚨 Event with Gov. Kathy Hochul: We’re hosting a live conversation with Gov. Kathy Hochul on Feb. 2 next month in the Albany area. If you’re a paid subscriber to CapCon, you can find the link to RSVP below in today’s newsletter.
⚡ Hochul administration and lawmakers clash over Con Ed rate case
The state Public Service Commission approved new rates Thursday for the delivery of electricity and gas by Con Edison, which primarily serves New York City and Westchester County.
The new rates are based on a joint proposal agreed to by the state Department of Public Service and Con Edison after months of negotiations. But their approval will still mean higher bills for ratepayers served by the energy firm.
The company was seeking to raise rates to generate $1.6 billion in revenue from electricity delivery and $349 million from gas delivery. The agreement will spread that increase over three years, totaling about $1 billion from electricity and $166 million from gas.
State lawmakers had called on the commission this month to reject that agreement and go back to the drawing board. Those efforts were not successful.
But it wasn’t for a lack of trying. A handful of lawmakers intervened in the rate proceeding to influence the outcome and many more have tried to pressure the commission into keeping rates flat.
It’s a classic case of conflict between Democrats in the state Legislature and the one who occupies the governor’s mansion.
Rory Christian, chair of the state Public Service Commission, framed lawmakers’ demands as unrealistic before the new rates were approved.
“Though a snapshot in time, the rate case process and the outcomes — those are built on a foundation of meticulously crafted legal, regulatory and policy decisions, not politics,” Christian said.
Christian has said previously that the commission’s priority is to maintain the reliability of energy in New York, even if that means approving new revenue for the utilities that maintain that infrastructure.
But it was the words of one of the other commissioners that got under the skin of some lawmakers. James Alesi, who voted to approve the rate hikes, said opposition to the new rates was rooted in emotion.
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