WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES FEBRUARY 17, 2022 7
NYC’s #1 Source for Political & Election News
Lawmaker calls for regulators to probe shocking Con Ed hikes
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Not since the “Astoria Borealis”
incident in December 2018 has
Con Edison provided this kind of
a shock to Queens residents. This time, a
substation fi re in Astoria is not to blame
for causing a high level of alarm across
the borough, but rather a stunning
rate hike that is refl ected in Con Edison
customers’ monthly utility bills.
State Senator Michael Gianaris called
on state regulators to investigate the
spiked supply costs after his office
was flooded with concerned phone
calls, emails and tweets from residents
expressing their exasperation over the
shocking rate hikes, with some saying
their bills have increased by up to 300%.
In addition to urging the Public Service
Commission (PSC) to launch a probe
into the rate hike, Gianaris once again
called for a public power option for New
Yorkers.
“The skyrocketing, unexpected costs
are hurting New Yorkers’ pockets at an
already difficult time,” Gianaris said.
“Con Ed needs to answer for this change
and help make customers whole. Con
Ed’s poor explanation and concerning
performance once again show the need
for New Yorkers to have public power.”
A Con Ed spokesperson said that the
blame was on the increased wholesale
price of natural gas used to generate
electricity.
“The changes in customer bills are
mainly due to the supply costs of the energy
commodity. Natural gas is a driver
of electricity costs as it is used by generation
plants to create electricity,” the Con
Ed spokesperson said. “Con Edison does
not make a profi t on the commodity. We
buy the energy on the wholesale market
and provide it to customers at the same
price we paid.”
This winter, while many are still
working from home requiring increased
electricity, world events have played a
role in higher energy costs including a
potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.
While the United States has agreed to
dip into the natural gas reserves to make
up the diff erence, the market remains
unpredictable.
“Energy prices are volatile and can be
aff ected by factors such as weather, demand
and economic trends,” the Con Ed
spokesperson explained. “The best way
for customers to manage their bills is to
manage their usage.”
The spokesperson added that customers
can learn about energy-saving tips
and energy-effi cient programs that help
them save money at coned.com.
In his letter to the PSC, Gianaris wrote
that the regulators must seek answers to
why Con Ed’s suppliers raised their costs
so dramatically, why consumers were not
notifi ed of the rate hikes beforehand so
they could plan accordingly and what can
be done to reduce the costs during this
current billing cycle even if it means
subsidizing such drastic increases.
“This is the type of pernicious behavior,
and dismissive explanation, that has convinced
me and so many others that the
time has come to support public power
for New Yorkers,” Gianaris wrote. “These
increased utility costs are hurting thousands
of New Yorkers. Until the Legislature
enacts a systemic solution, the PSC
must investigate, act and work to provide
relief to New York’s ratepayers — now.”
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Queens Councilman Robert Holden
introduced a bill on Thursday, Feb.
10, that would bring back punitive
segregation for inmates under 21 in city
jails.
Punitive segregation, also known
as solitary confi nement, locks people
in their cells for 23 hours of the day
as punishment for a violent off ense
while in custody, as described by the
city. Holden’s bill specifi es that solitary
confi nement is allowable for inmates
ages 18 to 21 who commit a violent act
and have undergone therapeutic counseling
for a prior violent outburst.
Holden said that violent, lawless
behavior should not be tolerated in the
city, inside or outside of city jails.
“Our corrections offi cers walk the
toughest beat in the city: our jails, and
they are being assaulted with impunity
by inmates,” Holden said. “Female correction
offi cers, for example, should
not suff er deep psychological damage
because inmates know there will be
no real penalty for sexually assaulting
them.”
The New York Post recently reported
a Rikers Island correction offi cer said
an inmate violently tried to molest her.
The anonymous offi cer was charged
by the inmate who was placed in jail
for sexual assault until another inmate
pulled the attacker off of her.
Mayor Eric Adams came forward in
early December, announcing his full
support of punitive segregation, saying
that inmates should never be able
to sexually assault a staff er.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio ended
punitive segregation for inmates 21 and
under in 2016. The former administration
instead created three therapeutic
alternatives to the segregated housing
model for managing behavior. Holden
and other opposers to this method
Photo courtesy of Robert Holden’s Campaign
argue that punitive segregation is the
only way to keep offi cers and inmates
safe.
“If our City Council members truly
believe that everyone in our facilities
deserve to be safe, then we must retain
the ability to separate violent off enders
from non-violent off enders,” said Correction
Offi cers’ Benevolent Association
President Benny Boscio.
Con Edison defended its shocking rate hikes putting the blame on the
wholesale price on natural gas. State Senator Michael Gianaris called for
an invest i gation. QNS fi le photo
Holden wants to bring back
solitary confi nement at city
jails for inmates under 21
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