Empire Watch

Con Ed Demands Rate Hikes—While Sending 13% of Your Bill To Shareholders and Executives In 2023, 13 cents of every dollar New Yorkers paid the monopoly utility went straight to stock buybacks, dividends, and executive pay.

Con Ed just issued a new stock offering—after burning through billions on stock buybacks and shareholder payouts.

This is the kind of casino capitalism that drives up your bills—13% of which went straight to shareholders and executives.

Read our report: empirewatch.substack.com/p/con-ed-dem...

Con Ed Demands Rate Hikes—While Sending 13% of Your Bill To Shareholders and Executives In 2023, 13 cents of every dollar New Yorkers paid the monopoly utility went straight to stock buybacks, dividends, and executive pay.

Con Ed just issued a new stock offering—after burning through billions on stock buybacks and shareholder payouts.

This is the kind of casino capitalism that drives up your bills—13% of which went straight to shareholders and executives.

Read our report: empirewatch.substack.com/p/con-ed-dem...

In 2023, Con Ed burned $1 billion on stock buybacks—inflating its share price and boosting executive pay.

Now it wants you to cover the cost with a giant rate hike.

State legislators: here’s a draft bill to stop utilities that do buybacks from raising rates.

Sincerely,
Empire Watch

Con Ed’s CEO made $16.2M in 2023—up 117% since 2020.

Even more damning? Massive dividends and stock buybacks that sent 13% of your bill to executives and Wall Street investors.

@govkathyhochul.bsky.social must include this in her audit.

Read our exposé: empirewatch.substack.com/p/con-ed-dem...

An Uber Scam: "Citizens for Affordable Rates" Is Big Business in Grassroots Disguise The Latest Big Business Coalition Masquerading as a Citizen Group Is Gearing Up to Bulldoze Through the State Capitol

It’s #SuperBowl Sunday, and in Albany, it’s astroturf season. This year’s team? “Citizens for Affordable Rates”—Uber-backed and running a multi-million-dollar play to gut insurance protections.

Read more: empirewatch.substack.com/p/an-uber-sc...

Con Ed Demands Rate Hikes—While Sending 13% of Your Bill To Shareholders and Executives In 2023, 13 cents of every dollar New Yorkers paid the monopoly utility went straight to stock buybacks, dividends, and executive pay.

NEW: In 2023, 13 cents of every dollar New Yorkers paid Con Edison went straight to stock buybacks, dividends, and executive pay.

And now, Con Ed wants another double-digit rate hike—forcing customers to pay more while it funnels billions to Wall Street.
empirewatch.substack.com/p/con-ed-dem...

No Rate Hikes for Buyback Abusers: Con Ed Should Reinvest Its Own Billions—Not Take More from New Yorkers When Investor-Owned Utilities Engage in Manipulative, Self-Enriching Stock Buybacks Instead of Reinvesting in Infrastructure, New York State Should Bar Them from Raising Rates.

#DYK Nebraska runs on a publicly owned and cooperative utility model, delivering reliable service and, on average, lower rates than investor-owned utilities like ConEd?

If ConEd wants to hike rates again, maybe it’s time we tell them to take a hike.
empirewatch.substack.com/p/no-rate-hi...

No Rate Hikes for Buyback Abusers: Con Ed Should Reinvest Its Own Billions—Not Take More from New Yorkers When Investor-Owned Utilities Engage in Manipulative, Self-Enriching Stock Buybacks Instead of Reinvesting in Infrastructure, New York State Should Bar Them from Raising Rates.

Con Ed wants to hike rates, supposedly to fund infrastructure upgrades.

Officials should ask: Why did Con Ed spend $1 billion in 2023 on stock buybacks—enriching executives & shareholders instead of investing in the infrastructure it now claims is so urgent?
empirewatch.substack.com/p/no-rate-hi...

No Rate Hikes for Buyback Abusers: Con Ed Should Reinvest Its Own Billions—Not Take More from New Yorkers When Investor-Owned Utilities Engage in Manipulative, Self-Enriching Stock Buybacks Instead of Reinvesting in Infrastructure, New York State Should Bar Them from Raising Rates.

Con Ed wants to hike rates, supposedly to fund infrastructure upgrades.

Officials should ask: Why did Con Ed spend $1 billion in 2023 on stock buybacks—enriching executives & shareholders instead of investing in the infrastructure it now claims is so urgent?
empirewatch.substack.com/p/no-rate-hi...

From Last Resort to First-in-the-Nation: Building a Public Insurance Program for New York In the Face of Climate Change and Insurance Company Profiteering, New York Must Get Serious About Making Insurance Fair and Affordable for All.

The LA wildfires exposed the failures of our profit-driven insurance system. When insurers ditch communities—especially those on the frontlines of the climate crisis—NY should make them fund a public option for affordable, reliable coverage.
empirewatch.substack.com/p/from-last-...