Monday, April 28, 2008
State Senator George Onorato (D-Queens) made the following statement regarding the proposed settlement offered by Consolidated Edison in response to the 2006 blackout in Western Queens:
"Given the horrors suffered by the people and businesses of Western Queens during the 2006 blackout, Consolidated Edison's proposal to reimburse ratepayers a mere $100 for their losses amounts to little more than chump change. And while it's nice that ConEd is planning to issue a formal apology to those who suffered in the dark and heat for nine days, I doubt that many people will find much comfort in having this company officially admit what the residents of Queens already knew: their utility failed them miserably.
"On the other hand, under the terms of this proposed settlement, ConEd will not be able to pass along $40 million in outage-related costs and $6 million in other charges to its customers, and it will provide $17 million from shareholder funds to pay for the refunds, community environmental projects, and a study on the economic and health impacts of the blackout. The Western Queens Power for the People Campaign worked hard to win these concessions, and its members are to be commended for their efforts.
"This proposal must still be reviewed by the Public Service Commission before it goes into effect, and some have pointed out that we would not even be considering this settlement plan if it were not for the inadequacy of state laws that stymie efforts to hold private utilities truly accountable for their failures. No matter how this issue is ultimately resolved, it is very clear that we need to make changes in our laws to better protect all of New York's communities from the type of devastation we experienced here in Queens."
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