In February, a mix of snow and road salt seeped into underground electrical equipment, plunging more than 5,000 of our constituents in Park Slope, Boerum Hill, Crown Heights, Bed-Stuy, and Bushwick into darkness.
Families lost heat during one of the longest and coldest spells in years. At Warren Street Houses, elderly tenants, people with disabilities, and parents with young children were trapped without working elevators, lights, or heat.
In the weeks after, our communities experienced smaller blackouts — reminders of how fragile our electric system has become. When residents and small businesses sought reimbursement for spoiled food, lost revenue, and emergency expenses, many found their claims rejected by Con Edison. Now, months after the snow has melted, we are still fighting with Con Ed to ensure our constituents are reimbursed for their losses.
Our offices coordinated with city agencies on emergency services, pressed Con Ed for restoration timelines, and kept neighbors informed about resources. As we shared updates online, a callous sentiment resurfaced: “Well, these people voted for a socialist. This is what they get.”
That narrative could not be more wrong. Rolling blackouts, exploding manholes, and a crumbling energy grid have nothing to do with socialism. They have everything to do with unchecked capitalism that treats electricity as a commodity instead of a public good.
Con Edison is a private, for-profit monopoly. New Yorkers cannot shop around for another electric provider. We are captive customers required to purchase an essential service from a corporation whose legal obligation is not to the public, but to its shareholders.
Last year, Con Ed reported its CEO’s compensation at nearly $15 million, while its parent company posted $1.82 billion in net income.
At the same time, the company has repeatedly sought and received rate hikes. The Public Service Commission approved annual increases that will raise electric bills by more than 10% over just a few years. New Yorkers already pay some of the highest utility rates in the country, yet collectively owe $1.8 billion in unpaid utility bills.
Meanwhile, Con Ed works to block battery storage projects, which can store electricity when demand is low and release it when demand is highest — helping prevent outages and lower costs.
Instead of embracing this technology, Con Ed has dramatically increased the costs for battery storage projects to connect to the grid — by more than 25 times the typical price. This could halt new battery storage development across much of New York City.
High electricity and gas costs have real consequences. Every summer, more than 500 New Yorkers die from heat-related causes. During outages, older adults and people with disabilities are especially vulnerable when they lose heat in winter, cooling in summer, or the ability to power medical devices.
New York took an important step forward last year by passing the Build Public Renewables Act, empowering the New York Power Authority to build and own renewable energy projects in the public interest.
But this is only the beginning. If we want a grid that is resilient, reliable, and affordable, we must move away from for-profit control of our electricity and gas systems and toward public ownership and accountability.
Public power means reinvesting revenue into infrastructure instead of funneling it to shareholders. It means long-term planning instead of short-term profit chasing and accountability to the people who depend on the system.
Albany must take on Con Edison and legislate with the urgency this moment demands.
New Yorkers deserve a grid that works for us. If Con Ed can’t deliver that, it’s time to take our power back.
Hanif, Nurse, and Ossé are City Council members from Brooklyn.