Con Ed teams up with DEP in rate hikes

So, Con Ed is following DEP's lead and also requesting a steep rate hike that would also cause total bills to increase about eleven and a half percent. The electricity increase, at 17% for residential customers and 10.7% for businesses, would go into effect next April. Here's the Times article on it.

And don't forget about who has the worst electricity network in the city (see right)...

The Times article also references Bloomberg's response to the water rate hikes:

Mayor Bloomberg, in his weekly radio call-in appearance on WABC-AM, defended the water rate increase yesterday.

“The Department of Environmental Protection is a pretty good agency, efficient, needs to keep making investments, and fixing and building,” Mr. Bloomberg said, “and we need those things, and somebody’s got to pay.”

Let's discuss this a little more in-depth, Mayor. DEP may be a pretty good agency overall, but they are certainly not efficient when it comes to billing issues, and hence collections. And why should rate payers be the only ones paying for capital improvements to the water that everyone uses (including commuters who use the city's water all day long)? And why does the city need the rental payment from DEP for use of the tunnels/infrastructure?