US Republicans. Ritchie TorresThe Bronx borough is one of the poorest in the country, so of course it cares about the little people. But when Torres investigated Natural gas billshe discovered a shocking discrepancy that affected all income groups in the city: Con Edison customers paid twice as much as National Network Customers – and sometimes more.

The State Public Service Commission says it intends to review Torres’ findings, which include “glaring differences” over the past two years in service delivery prices charged by Con Edison compared to National Grid, Crain reports. Both utilities have similar delivery costs – the price of buying energy on wholesale markets – but their fees for Provision Energy delivery to customers can vary greatly.

“The status quo of arbitrarily higher delivery rates cannot remain,” Torres wrote in a letter to the Chairman and CEO of the Public Service Commission Rory Christian.

The report found that Con Edison, which serves Manhattan, the Bronx and parts of Queens, charges between 92 cents and $1.29 per thermal unit for gas. National Grid, on the other hand, charges its customers in Queens and Brooklyn between 45 cents and 54 cents per thermal unit. (The utility also serves Staten Island, but that borough was not included in the study.)

These price differences can add up considerably for property owners. For example, Con Edison calculated a total of about $7,300 for about 3,800 thermal units of gas between September and October in 2023; the delivery fee was more than $5,600, the report said. In Brooklyn, Torres’ review found that National Grid charged a similar property that used about the same amount of gas a fee, some $2,800 for service between April and May 2023; and the delivery portion of the fee was just over $1,800. In this case, the Con Edison customer paid almost three times what the National Grid customer paid.

Spokesperson for Con Edison Allen Drury did not dispute Torres’ findings, but noted that energy delivery prices can vary for a variety of reasons, including the level of service provided to customers, the geographic location of an area and the timing of annual, state-approved price increases. Drury also pointed to Con Edison’s investments in local gas infrastructure.

There is no universal formula for the costs of all utilities, said James Dena spokesman for the state Ministry of Public Serviceswhich includes the Public Service Commission. He pointed to a mix of factors such as differences in utility operations, the number of power plants used, property taxes and corporate structures that can contribute to cost differences.

Indeed, National Grid customers across New York City will soon be faced with higher gas bills. Starting September 1, customers who use the utility’s gas to heat their homes will be charged an additional average $30 in Brooklyn, parts of Queens and Staten Island on their monthly bills. State regulators approved the rate increase last week primarily to 5 billion US dollars on new investments that National Grid plans to make in the New York gas system.