Con Ed is the monopoly utility for New York City, charging exorbitantly high delivery rates that have increased year after year with no pushback from the NYS Public Service Commission. They claim these increases are for clean energy investments when instead we see rollbacks in investment and the expansion of failing fossil fuel infrastructure.

The Con Ed corporation makes billions in profits while millions of New Yorkers struggle to pay their utility bills. 30% are considered energy burdened and millions have had their utilities shut off for not affording their bill. In the richest city, in the richest country in the history of the world, the working class should not have to decide between keeping the refrigerator full or the refrigerator running.

That’s why we need a new system for setting energy and utility rates, one that doesn’t disproportionately burden residential customers and prioritizes profits for the corporate elite.

Public Power is the solution to the energy affordability crisis and out north star. Corporate utilities will always prioritize profit over people. Heat and electricity are not optional things, but necessary things to live a dignified life, and cost should not be a restrictive factor to live in our city.

Therefore Public Power through increased clean energy investments by the publicly owned NY Power Authority is the solution. Renewable energy infrastructure is the proven affordability solution for energy needs, dollar for dollar, providing more energy for New Yorkers into the foreseeable future. That is why we fully stand by the implementation of the Build Public Renewables Act.‍ ‍

Dying Nuclear plants for AI Data centers, and privatized gas pipelines will only lead to a greater cost burden for consumers, and a continued dependence on pollution that drives the climate crisis. Investments should explicitly go towards energy grid retrofitting, energy storage technology, and public renewables.

Cap and Invest, as well as other state funding mechanisms is how we get it done. Polluting fossil fuel corporations have made billions in profits of the backs, health, and lives of New Yorkers . This legislation along similar packages like the Climate Superfund Act (CLCPA), cap the greenhouse gas emissions of polluting corporations and demands they pay into a fund that goes towards climate crisis solutions.

Essentially, a first of its kind system of reparations to fund clean energy infrastructure, utility assistance programs, green jobs, and other services to create the climate resilient communities we need to withstand the climate crisis.