Con Edison updates clean energy progress in annual sustainability report

Con Edison released its annual sustainability report, in which it outlines its progress in developing the energy infrastructure to support a transition away from carbon-emitting fossil fuels.

By the end of 2023, customers of the company’s utilities, Con Edison Co. of New York (CECONY) and Orange and Rockland Utilities (O&R), had installed 822 megawatts of renewable power capacity. Further, its energy efficiency programs provided customers with more than $304 million for making upgrades to their homes and businesses that will save them money and reduce emissions.

In addition, CECONY customers installed 92.1 megawatts of solar in 2023, a company record. O&R customers installed 30.1 megawatts, the second most in O&R history. Also, at the end of 2023, the utilities had connected 1,125 customer battery systems with a capacity of 82 megawatts.

“This report reaffirms Con Edison’s commitment to making critical investments that ensure New York has a resilient and reliable grid ready for the future, whether it’s transitioning away from fossil fuels or taking on the urgent threat of climate change and extreme weather,” Tim Cawley, the chairman and CEO of Con Edison, said. “We are proud of the work we do to ensure that Con Edison continues to deliver for our customers as part of the clean energy transition, by investing in our system, in our people, and in our customers. Increasingly, our customers are choosing to electrify their homes, businesses, and vehicles. Through investments in our customer service system, EV charging infrastructure, expansion of our grid, and interconnection points for offshore wind, we are making sure they have the power they need when and where they need it.”

Further, the company is building transmission lines to carry power from offshore wind turbines to customers. In 2023, Con Edison put into service a new transmission line that connects two substations in Queens and enabled the retirement of an inefficient, fossil fuel power plant.

The company also began construction of the Brooklyn Clean Energy Hub in the Vinegar Hill neighborhood, a transmission substation designed to strengthen New York’s power grid. The hub will serve as a plug-in point for future offshore wind infrastructure. The hub will accommodate up to 1,500 megawatts — enough electricity to power 750,000 homes. And in January, Con Edison got state approval for its Reliable Clean City – Idlewild project, a substation complex in southeast Queens.

Looking ahead, the utilities each completed a Climate Change Resiliency Plan last November, proposing $1.3 billion in investments in the first five years to fortify equipment against severe heat waves, storms, and flooding.