What Con Edison Provides to New York: Energy Services Breakdown

Consolidated Edison (Con Edison) is the primary energy utility serving New York City and Westchester County — 3.1M electric, 1.1M gas, 160K steam, and district cooling customers.

Core Services

⚡ Electricity

• Customers: 3.1 million (NYC + Westchester)
• Generation: Own plants (Astoria, Ravenswood, East River, Hudson Ave) + purchased power
• Transmission/Distribution: 130+ substations, 94,000 miles underground cable, 36,000 miles overhead
• Peak load: ~13,000 MW (summer)
• Renewables integration: Offshore wind (Empire Wind, Sunrise Wind), solar, storage pilots

🔥 Natural Gas

• Customers: 1.1 million
• System: 4,300+ miles mains; receives gas via interstate pipelines (Transco, Iroquois, Tennessee, Millennium)
• Usage: Heating, hot water, cooking, power gen, industrial
• Decarbonization: Testing hydrogen blending; geothermal district pilots

💨 Steam (World's Largest District Steam System)

• Customers: 160,000 (Manhattan below 96th St)
• Produced at: East River, Hudson Ave, 59th St, 74th St, Brooklyn Navy Yard stations
• Uses: Heating, cooling (absorption chillers), humidification, sterilization (hospitals), laundries, museums
• Network: 105 miles mains; some pipes >100 years old

❄️ District Cooling

• Service area: ~485,000 sq ft (commercial buildings in Manhattan)
• Plants: East River, Hudson Ave, 59th St
• Benefit: Avoids building-level chillers; frees roof space; efficient

Infrastructure Scale

Modern Challenges & Initiatives

• Clean Energy Standard: 70% renewable electricity by 2030; 100% zero-carbon by 2040 (NY State law)
• Grid modernization: Smart meters (AMI), DER management, non-wires alternatives
• Climate resilience: Post-Sandy hardening (submersible equipment, flood walls, microgrids)
• Building electrification: Gas-to-heat-pump incentives; Local Law 97 (building emissions caps)
• Affordability: Low-income discounts (Energy Affordability Program); rate design reform

History Note

Founded 1823 as **New York Gas Light Company**. Merged with Edison Electric Illuminating Co (1884). Name "Consolidated Edison" from 1936 consolidation. One of America's oldest investor-owned utilities.

Con Edison literally powers, heats, and cools the city that never sleeps — a critical infrastructure backbone undergoing its most profound transformation since Edison's Pearl Street Station.