| Contact: Deborah Sturm Rausch 518.473.9472 |
For Immediate Release: April 24, 2008 |
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Statement by Mindy A. Bockstein, Chairperson and
Executive Director of the NYS Consumer Protection Board Regarding the
Proposed Agreement with Consolidated Edison
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Today’s proposed settlement is unique for many reasons. It provides, for the
first time, direct payments to consumers and small business operators; funds an
impact study, the results of which will be used to develop future policy and
planning; yields direct and long-term environmental benefits for the affected
community; reaffirms that Con Ed, not its customers, is responsible for costs
associated with the power outage, including network restoration; and, assures
that Con Ed customers living in Staten Island, Westchester and other locations
will not be forced to pay for costs associated with the 2006 outage.
Although Con Ed had no legal obligation to cover costs for anything outside of spoilage, through dialogue and compromise, all the parties who chose to participate in the detailed and intense negotiations were able to secure some recompense for consumers, both residential and businesses, who shouldered the burden of the nine-day outage. These outcomes would not have been achieved through litigation, which was the only other alternative and could have taken years.
The NYS Consumer Protection Board (CPB), community members and all the parties recognize that the individual payments, in addition to the higher spoilage payments previously adjusted by the PSC and the CPB, received by affected consumers will not provide full compensation for the personal and financial losses people incurred, however, the whole package is a precedent for a utility operating in New York State.
I commend those representatives of the community, government and small businesses who were actually at the table to advocate for consumers, including the Department of Public Service (DPS), all of whom worked together on this Agreement and look forward to a favorable ruling by the PSC in the very near future so that consumers can receive their credits by this summer.
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