Con Edison — which charges the highest electric rates of any big-city utility — wants more.
Typical New York City apartment dwellers who use 300 kilowatt hours of electricity each month would see their bills jump an estimated 4.7 percent, to $85.94, under the rates Con Ed hopes to impose next January.
How much you'll really pay depends on fluctuations in energy prices and on what changes the state Public Service Commission makes to Con Edison's proposal.
Consumer advocates say the company's plans are too much of a hit on low- and middle-income Con Ed customers.
"It's no good for the city. The city is somewhat unaffordable now. This just doesn't help," said Bill Ferris of AARP, which is pushing statewide for lower energy prices.
But Con Ed says the price hike — which would net the company $368 million in 2016 — is needed to fund storm readiness and technological improvements in its system.
"This plan will adequately fund investment for the enhanced security, reliability and resiliency of the electric delivery system," said Con Ed president Craig Ivey. "It also is designed to support better service through an improved web site."
The company does its best to control costs, and has avoided "tens of millions of dollars in costs for customers through new work management strategies," said Con Ed spokesman Mike Clendenin.
"We always work with customers having difficulty with bill payments," Clendenin said.
Con Ed last had a rate increase in April 2012. Late in 2013, the company and the Public Service Commission agreed to a two-year freeze on electric rates, which runs out at the end of 2015.
The company's one-year rate plan, filed with the PSC on Friday, proposes lower price increases for commercial customers. A typical commercial customer would see rates jump by about 2.9 percent, the company says.
Flat and declining prices for natural gas and other fuels used by generating plants are masking the real amount of money that Con Edison will gain through the rate increase, consumer advocates say.
Because of steady or dropping energy prices, increasing prices for the city's residential electricity customers by 4.7 percent actually works out to a 7.9 percent increase in what Con Edison gets to maintain its cables, transformers and other equipment.
Ferris said the state needs to do more to make sure consumers are represented in utility rate cases.
"We have a major rate case going on, and there is no independent consumer voice at the table," he said.
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