Digital Meters Don’t Matter

City Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens) wants all homes to have digital devices by 2011 to monitor utilities. He believes they’d offer usage info to cut consumer bills by 10% and enable Con Edison to reduce site inspections and better track outages. I guess “10%” is a nice number, but what conclusions is it based on? Assuming any future usage reduction percentage is next to impossible to calculate without facts. What's more, usage is more likely to rise as customers buy more electronics that require more electricity. Besides, consumers already get usage info ... on their bills. More importantly, people know exactly how much they pay out each month for electricity. What better gauge for New Yorkers is there than that? Likewise, Con Edison should be required to operate more efficiently without new monitoring devices. More importantly, Con Ed must respond to outages faster once meters (of any type) are reading zero. Politicians should lead by innovation and example to reduce energy consumption. Getting New York City residents to subsidize new meters now to register existing information is probably not the best way to do it.

Con Ed Bills To Rise Again

Are you shocked? Experts believe this summer’s electricity bills may go up 30% in New York City because of higher fuel costs. Are you shocked? Con Edison already charges the highest rate of any major electric utility. Are you shocked? Con Ed projects a 13% increase. Are you surprised???

Watt A Shocker!

Want FREE electricity from Con Edison? To get a personal volt-jolt, simply touch the right (or wrong, depending on how you look at it) Con Ed-managed light pole, electric switching box, manhole cover or other equipment. Some of them leak electricity! In fact, this can occur in roughly three quarters of a million places in New York City. According to Con Ed, 295 people "made the connection" in 2007. But before you make plans to turn yourself into a power user, remember this. Con-Ed's loose-juice can be powerful enough to kill and regrettably has before. So be careful out there. Don’t turn yourself into another "light on Broadway."

Con Ed Steamed Over Idea To Cool It

In the wake of last July’s deadly steam pipe explosion in midtown, some here are openly questioning whether steam is still vital for power generation. Currently, steam accounts for only 5% of Con Ed’s business. So, if steam service has been reduced to this level, why not completely? For several reasons, chief among them being public safety and maintenance costs, it seems logical to replace this century-old system with electric or other technologies. Yet, Con Ed spokesman Bob McGee declared, “Doing without the steam system in New York’s energy mix would be like commuters doing without the subway.” That poor analogy alone is enough to warrant independent study! Maybe the time has come to shut down the 105 miles of potential steam pipe bombs under the streets of Manhattan … and the hot air that escapes those who seek to justify it’s necessity.

Where There’s Steam ... There’s Something Boiling Below

The cause(s) for Con Edison’s July, 2007 steam pipe explosion has yet to be determined. Whether Con Ed is to blame for inadequate maintenance or whether a city-owned water main (broken a few days prior to the blast) triggered the other pipe to burst, nobody knows. It will be awhile before anything is confirmed. Perhaps, we may never know exactly what led to this tragic event.

I believe there are some things we can safely predict. For example, in the years to come:

1. There will be lawsuits and counter-lawsuits aplenty. Suits on behalf of the two people sadly caught in the blast, Con Ed vs. the city, the city vs. Con Ed and each of the building, store and property owners with damages vs. everybody standing. Maybe others too.
2. All sides will produce “expert” testimony. Each party pointing hired fingers at the other side. Each expert will present reasonably logical arguments while possibly obscuring important facts in the process.
3. Regardless of who wins and who loses, all costs will ultimately be passed onto New York City taxpayers and Con Edison’s customers.
4. More explosions, resulting from the city’s decaying underground infrastructure which is over 100 years old in many places, may be expected.
5. City residents will be generally unsupportive of tax increases to subsidize the “big fix” that’s needed underneath our town.
6. Local politicians won’t adequately address the growing dangers or propose important legislation to counter these threats. Heard any yet?
7. When all is said and done, there will be several additionally rich tort lawyers flashing their $1,000 bills to attract the gorgeous blondes in Bungalow 8.

There once was a time when pedestrians crossing NYC streets need only be cautious not to step behind horses or into an open manhole. Nowadays, horse manure isn’t a big concern. Sidestepping manholes, even those with covers securely in place, may still be a wise precaution. Unless of course you want to risk being launched through the 10th floor window of a skyscraper.

Tread lightly New Yorkers. There's a cauldron of trouble brewing beneath your feet.