Con Edison to Make Solar Energy Available to Low-Income Customers
August 02 2017 - 3:15PM
Con Edison will begin providing renewable energy to low-income
customers in 2018 following today’s approval of a plan to place
solar panels on company roofs and grounds.
Con Edison expects to begin installing the first panels on
properties in Brooklyn, Queens and Westchester County. In this
initial phase, Con Edison expects to install enough panels to
generate 3 megawatts of power to serve 800 to 1,600 customers,
under a pilot program the company proposed last year.
“We thank the state Public Service Commission for its careful
review and approval of the first phase of our Shared Solar Pilot
Program, which will make renewable energy available to a group of
customers who have been largely shut out of the solar market,” said
Matthew Ketschke, Con Edison’s vice president, Distributed Resource
Integration. “More customers having access to renewable energy will
mean a cleaner environment here in New York City and Westchester
County.”
Developers will bid competitively for contracts to install
arrays on company properties. The company also plans to begin
forming partnerships with community organizations that can help get
the word out to customers who may be able to benefit from the
program. There would be no cost to low-income participants, each of
whom could realize savings of at least $60 per year.
The company said in its filing that it can build up to 11
megawatts of solar generation over five years and could serve 3,000
to 6,000 residential customers who are in the company’s low-income
bill assistance program.
The program would make solar power available to customers who
receive bills directly from Con Edison, and who are enrolled in the
company’s low-income bill assistance program. They also would be
encouraged to participate in an energy efficiency program, which
can result in additional customer savings.
The project is consistent with the state’s “Reforming the Energy
Vision” (REV) initiative, which aims to give customers more access
to distributed generation and reduce carbon emissions.
Several factors have made it difficult for low-income customers
to access solar energy. First, many of them rent their homes or
live in multi-family buildings where they do not have control of
their roofs. The upfront costs of installing solar panels and
ability to borrow money can also be barriers. Of more than 10,000
Con Edison customers who have solar panels, only about 200 are in
the company’s low income program.
Con Edison estimates the cost of the first phase of the program
to be about $10 million.
Con Edison already has solar panels on its headquarters in
Manhattan. Those panels produce 40 kilowatts of power to the
building.
Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc.
(NYSE:ED), one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy
companies, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues and
$48 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam
service to customers in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y.
For additional financial, operations and customer service
information, visit www.conEd.com, for energy efficiency rebates and
incentives www.coned.com/energyefficiency, and on Twitter and
Facebook.
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Contact:
Media Relations
212-460-4111
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