Fight-back wins $63M settlement

The Western Queens Power for the People Campaign (PFP) has announced a groundbreaking $63-million proposed settlement in the state’s case against the utility company Con Edison for a July 2006 power outage in the New York City borough of Queens.

Events like this ‘flashlight march’ kept the pressure on Con Ed. Photo: Western Queens Power for the People Campaign

The agreement comes after nearly two years of struggle by the people of Western Queens for justice and restitution for damage caused by the utility’s longest outage, which left working-class and immigrant communities with no or low power for 10 days during a sweltering summer heat wave.

“Western Queens Power for the People Campaign still firmly believes that Con Edison’s negligence caused the power outage and that our community’s suffering was needless. Today’s settlement doesn’t change that,” said Alyssa Bonilla of PFP. The grassroots group was formed during the outage. It served as a community voice in the state’s investigation and subsequent settlement discussions and also opposed a rate increase for the utility.

“We agreed to this proposal,” added Bonilla, “because it is the best possible outcome for the community, given the inadequacy of the existing laws.”

The proposed settlement calls for a written apology from Con Ed, to appear on customer bills in English and Spanish, and $17 million in Con Ed stockholder funds to go directly to the affected Western Queens communities. About half of that money will pay for refunds of $100 or more to customers, mainly residents of the affected communities. The balance will pay for tree planting and other neighborhood greening projects, beyond any already planned for the area by the city or funded by other sources.

This is the first time in proceedings of the New York State Public Service Commission that Con Ed funds were allocated specifically for communities that suffered through an outage. Contributing substantially to this breakthrough was the community fight-back led by PFP—from petitioning, testifying at hearings, and holding community meetings and marches to picketing Con Ed’s headquarters and sitting at the table in direct negotiations with the company and the state.

The settlement also requires Con Ed to pay up to $500,000 for a study to assess the economic and public health costs of damages caused by the outage, which can be used to improve the way the utility giant reimburses the victims of future outages. Con Ed will also be prevented from passing on $46 million in outage-related costs to its customers.

Some local elected officials criticized the utility giant for not coming up with more money. However, state Assembly member Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester), who chairs the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee, called the hard-won settlement “an unprecedented victory for real people in New York.”

“Western Queens Power for the People Campaign understands better than anyone that this settlement does not come close to compensating the community for all its losses,” said Bonilla. “But it will put money directly into the pockets of residents, many of whom are struggling, and it will help green sections of Queens that have some of the lowest rates of open space in the entire city. We hope the laws will be changed in the future so other communities do not have to suffer like we did. It just may be that the time of the privately owned utility company has seen its day.”

The proposed settlement was filed with the NYS Public Service Commission on April 24, and must be approved by the full PSC before its provisions are implemented. Highlights and the full text of the settlement are available at www.powerforthepeople.info.