Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration

Much of the work we do is highly visible: our crews are on – and under – New York’s streets every day. That work is made possible in part by our close working relationships with community groups, chambers of commerce, and local development corporations. Through these relationships we are better able to coordinate our projects and capital investments, inform our customers of the benefits of technologies such as smart meters and energy efficiency upgrades, and offer local businesses opportunities for doing business with Con Edison and taking advantage of the clean energy transition.

Additionally, we cultivate relationships with environmental advocacy and justice groups, consumer advocates, and groups representing large customers, giving us an opportunity to listen to their priorities and address their concerns. Our stakeholder relationships become especially critical during emergencies and outages. We seek to further strengthen our relationships with our communities and stakeholders as New York’s clean energy transition gathers speed.

Policy & Regulatory Impact

CECONY and O&R support New York State’s clean energy policies and goals, including plans outlined under the CLCPA to reduce statewide GHG emissions 85% from 1990 levels by 2050 and provide customers with 100% of their energy from emission free resources by 2040.

Stakeholder engagement and collaboration are a key part of our policy and regulatory work. We work in partnership with our customers, policymakers, consumer advocates, various third parties, and other energy companies to seek innovative ways to realize the clean energy future. This includes exploring new ways to advance clean energy technologies through adoption of distributed resources, including energy storage and solar, and facilitating the interconnection of renewable energy projects like offshore wind. We are also thinking more boldly about our electric system, planning and preparing to build the grid of the future, including with the new Brooklyn Clean Energy Hub, the Gateway substation in East New York, and the Reliable Clean City Idlewild project to build a new transmission substation and distribution substation, and install new and reconfigure existing distribution feeders in southeastern Queens. CECONY and O&R have programs to reduce fossil fuel usage, providing incentives for customers to install electric-powered heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers. We are also advocating at the New York State-level for the ability to own large-scale renewable generation. All of this is in addition to installing smart meters throughout our service areas, launching a new customer service system, and piloting new rate designs that help customers manage their energy usage and bills.

We are an active participant in regulatory proceedings, including those that seek to expand energy efficiency, address affordability through low-income bill discount programs, develop offshore wind transmission interconnections, establish transmission policy to advance clean energy objectives, provide customers with high efficiency electric heating options, amend regulatory structures to achieve CLCPA targets, enhance system resiliency considering climate change, and grow the electric vehicles sector by building and enabling the needed electric vehicle charging infrastructure. We work with regulators, customers, and other stakeholders to develop solutions that will promote a clean energy future in a cost-effective way for all New Yorkers. We also regularly engage with key stakeholders on various regulatory and clean energy topics to keep an open dialogue. Additionally, we advocate for many of these policies through the legislative process at various levels of government.

Community Development & Strategic Partnerships

Con Edison supports organizations and causes that champion a clean and equitable energy future for all New Yorkers. Our philanthropic initiatives power the vitality of our communities in New York City and Westchester, Rockland, Orange, and Sullivan Counties to advocate for equity and support the gaps that exist in state-designated disadvantaged communities.

In 2023 we realigned our charitable investments to reflect our core business goals and values. This work led to a three-year plan to refocus community partnership investments in nonprofits who share our vision to combat the effects of climate change, advance social justice in the communities we serve, and prepare our communities for green jobs across our service territory.

Last year Con Edison provided over $15 million to more than 600 nonprofit organizations across our service territories. In keeping with our focus on the clean energy transition, we increased our investments in groups tackling climate change adaptation efforts, environmental justice, and stewardship initiatives.

Here we highlight a few of the organizations we support:

CECONY’s Container Garden on Governors Island

In partnership with Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Trust for Governors Island, and GrowNYC, our Research and Development team built a container garden on Governors Island. This project was conceived by EPRI, whose mission is to conduct research, development, and demonstration projects. EPRI’s goal was to build a container garden to study the effects of indoor farming on the grid. But the garden is more than a demonstration project. Operated by the Trust for Governors Island and GrowNYC, it’ll grow fresh, reliable produce year-round within 320 square feet, or the equivalent of 2.5 acres of land. The farm is also innovating in its use of fresh water, saving as much as 95% more than normal farms. It will also expand food access to produce kale, basil, mint, bok choy and more. GrowNYC, who empowers New Yorkers with equitable access to fresh and locally grown food, will distribute produce from Governors Island to local communities and neighborhoods across the boroughs.

Solar One’s Environmental Education Center

CECONY proudly sponsored Solar One’s new environmental education center, which broke ground in the summer of 2023. Located along the waterfront—at Stuyvesant Cove Park—this new facility is intended to become a model of resiliency for hurricanes, storm surges, and other extreme weather events. It will feature advanced sustainable building engineering and design components and generate off the grid solar electricity, including Solar One’s Urban Green Lab. An education destination for thousands of NYC public school children, this new environmental education hub will provide indoor and outdoor experiences to learn about sustainability, climate change, and resiliency.

Nature Conservancy’s New York Forest Program

CECONY supported the Nature Conservancy’s Future Forest NYC program to help ensure the future of NYC’s urban forest—and the social & environmental benefits it provides—can deliver equitable outcomes. Additional program efforts include the creation of the NYC Urban Forest Agenda, which advocates for more urban forestry careers, while serving communities with less access to formal higher education. Crucial to the success of the Forest for All NYC campaign, was the creation of a coalition of agencies, nonprofit organizations, and companies like CEONY working together to advance the NYC Urban Forest Agenda.

Lower Eastside Ecology Center’s E-Waste Program

This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Lower Eastside Ecology Center’s e-waste reuse and recycling program, the only free e-waste program run by a nonprofit organization in New York City. Starting in 2003, this program has diverted over 10.5 million pounds of unwanted electronics from landfills or incineration. The E-Waste program offers free collection of unwanted electronics to New Yorkers through pop-up events across different boroughs including Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Thanks to CECONY’s support, the e-waste program delivered over 21 events throughout the year, which collected over 150,000 pounds of unwanted electronics, while reaching over 4,000 households.

Nyack Pollinator Pathway

The Nyack Pollinator Pathway creates habitat for birds, bees and butterflies, one garden at a time! This pathway expanded its network of gardens throughout Nyack, creating a fuller and more tightly woven patchwork quilt of pollinator habitat to support innumerable species of birds, bees, and butterflies. Working with the Nyack Plaza Apartments, an affordable housing community, O&R installed two pollinator gardens in visible public areas of their property. We are also assisting the Nyack Community Garden to double the size of their pollinator plantings surrounding their space. These pollinator gardens will reduce the effects of environmental fragmentation and will also beautify underutilized natural landscapes for Nyack residents with fewer resources. Furthermore, the Village of Nyack has asked the Nyack Pollinator Pathways to help convert three empty lots within Nyack that currently contain turf grass and invasive species into meadows of native pollinator-friendly grasses and perennials.

Community Involvement

CECONY has a team of Regional & Community Affairs (RCA) staff dedicated to each of the five NYC boroughs and Westchester County. These professionals have close working relationships with CECONY’s government partners and long-standing, productive relationships with community stakeholders.

Our RCA team is committed to:

• Attending monthly meetings with of all NYC community boards
• Attending at least annual meetings with Westchester municipalities
• Meeting with all newly elected officials throughout CECONY service territories
• Helping ensure project-based coordination and communication throughout the year

The RCA staff meet regularly with each of NYC’s 59 community boards. These community boards represent their communities on quality-of-life issues. RCA consults extensively with the community boards on proposed and ongoing projects in the communities at the monthly District Service Cabinet meetings and other community board meetings that are open to the public. Westchester RCA also meets regularly with its municipal partners on the same matters. Each region maintains an extensive portfolio of non-profit partners, and overall RCA provides meaningful financial support to hundreds of groups across the five boroughs and Westchester.

CECONY subject matter experts working within the CECONY’s operating groups are involved in RCA’s outreach process with local communities regarding projects affecting the respective regions. Several notable projects currently underway are our Reliable Clean City projects and the construction of the Brooklyn Clean Energy Hub. The subject matter experts engage with the communities to advise about the importance of the work we are doing to reinforce, or make more resilient, the energy systems that serve our customers in their areas. Also, they can advise on more technical matters to the extent the communities want that information.

RCA logs, tracks, and reports on community-related outreach activity through our customer relationship management platform. The metrics generated demonstrate our high level of interaction with external community stakeholders and our excellent level of responsiveness. CECONY policy requires that RCA update the contact information for all elected officials as well as government and community stakeholders in the service territories twice annually so that all contacts are identified and maintained.

It is the responsibility of our senior Corporate Affairs personnel to coordinate regularly with government officials at all levels of government, including the NYC Mayor, NYC City Hall staff, Westchester County executive and county government, high-level government agencies and key elected officials.

Regional & Community Affairs Governance

Several policies govern RCA community engagement and outreach. These include our Corporate Affairs Crisis Communications Plan and our Guidelines for Communications with the Public During Load Management Power Outages. These policies state that our RCA team will reach out to elected officials and other community stakeholders whenever electric outage thresholds are met within certain timeframes. CECONY’s electric emergency response plan and the accompanying estimated time of restoration protocol also dictate that Government Relations and Regional & Community Affairs must contact stakeholders as outage thresholds are reached. In particular, these policies state that RCA must specifically schedule operator-assisted calls with stakeholders once thresholds are met.

Similarly, the gas emergency response plan references Corporate Affairs crisis communications plan and its outreach provisions. It is CECONY policy that Corporate Affairs is responsible for releasing statements regarding gas-related emergencies to the news agencies and alerting municipal authorities of the emergency’s status.

Government Approvals

When CECONY seeks to renew NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) permits such as those used by waterfront steam plants, State DEC Commissioner Policy 29 dictates that CECONY develop a Public Participation Plan (PPP) if the operations at the permitted facility would impact environmental justice areas. DEC requires, among other outreach, public meetings, email, and other alerts to local stakeholders, as well as the creation of public-facing websites and local repositories for project-based information.

Similarly, as part of CECONY’s Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) program, we work closely with DEC and the NYS Department of Health to test and, where appropriate, remediate, MGP sites located on current or former Con Edison properties. As part of these ongoing MGP obligations, CECONY must develop a Citizen Participation Plan (CPP) for each MGP site. These CPPs require that we keep impacted community stakeholders informed about CECONY’s environmental evaluation and response program for these sites throughout the investigative and remediation processes. The stakeholders include all elected officials, NYC community boards, municipal officials, nearby property owners and tenants, and other civic and community representatives. We endeavor to address and resolve concerns raised by affected local stakeholders and hold public meetings. The Company has a  dedicated webpage that posts pertinent information on MGP site developments and a toll-free number (877-602-6633).

Community Outreach and Environmental Justice

Some of RCA’s priorities into the future are outlined in Con Edison’s Clean Energy Commitment (CEC), which states the Company’s commitment to “enhance our collaboration with our customers and stakeholders to improve the quality of life of the neighborhoods we serve and live in, focusing on disadvantaged communities.” The CEC describes several initiatives, including the following:

• Advocate for cost effectiveness and partner with […] governmental partners, and other stakeholders to prioritize affordability for [low- and moderate-income] customers throughout the transition to a clean energy future
• Continue to engage environmental justice advocates to build bridges within disadvantaged communities and enhance our efforts to provide equitable distribution of benefits when designing programs and implementing projects
• Collaborate with interested stakeholders, including local municipalities and the real estate community, to identify key changes needed to foster a more “electrification ready” environment

As detailed in our Human Rights Statement, “Con Edison seeks to engage a broad range of perspectives and voices to help us to better understand the needs and expectations of our stakeholders. Through collaboration, we strive to deliver better outcomes that strengthen our community engagement while also building trust with the communities in which we serve.”

Supporting Customers

In 2023 CECONY and O&R continued providing energy bill payment assistance programs to vulnerable and low-income customers. The following are key assistance programs provided in 2023:

Energy Affordability Program

CECONY’s Energy Affordability Program (EAP) provides monthly electric and gas bill discounts to low-income customers. To maximize its reach, the company partners with social service agencies in New York City and Westchester County to enroll customers receiving benefits from 14 different public assistance programs. In addition, CECONY executes various communication campaigns to prompt eligible customers to enroll in the EAP. At the end of 2023, there were 477,498 customers across the Company’s service territory in the EAP – approximately 15.3% of residential customers. Over the course of 2023, the EAP provided $265.5 million in bill discounts to help make bills more affordable for our most vulnerable customers, representing a 54.1% increase over discount spending in 2022.

O&R’s Energy Affordability Program also provides monthly electric and gas bill discount to low-income customers. At the end of 2023, there were 15,544 customers across O&R’s service territory in the EAP – approximately 7.5% of residential customers. Over the course of 2023, the EAP provided $18.8 million in bill discounts to help make bills more affordable for O&R’s most vulnerable customers, representing a 19.9% increase over discount spending in 2022.

Electric and Gas Bill Relief Program – Phase 2 

CECONY and O&R partnered with the New York State Department of Public Service, other utilities and stakeholders from across New York State to implement a second phase of the Electric and Gas Bill Relief Program (EGBRP) in 2023 that provided residential and small commercial customers with one-time bill credits to cover arrears accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 198,478 CECONY customers received $340.8 million in bill credits through the EGBRP in 2023, and 1,805 O&R customers received $2.3 million in bill credits through the EGBRP in 2023.

Payment Assistance Options

Throughout 2023 CECONY and O&R conducted customer outreach and education campaigns to encourage customers having trouble paying energy bills to consider a deferred payment agreement to pay off past due balances over time with no interest or fees and improving budgeting of energy costs through enrollment in the level payment program. At the end of 2023, 157,116 CECONY customers were participating in a deferred payment agreement, representing a 20% increase over the end of 2022 and 8,822 O&R customers representing a 3.6% increase over the end of 2022.

EnergyShare

Through its EnergyShare program, CECONY provides up to an additional $200 benefit to low-income customers who have made at least one payment in the previous 12 months and are income-qualified. EnergyShare bill credits are made possible by voluntary monetary contributions from CECONY employees and customers. The program typically opens in January each year and remains through the winter months; however, since March of 2020 the program has remained open year-round in an effort to further assist customers through the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, 1,163 customers received assistance from the energy share program, for a total amount of assistance of $207,805.

Energy Efficiency Programs

In recent years the state of New York, CECONY, O&R and other utilities have collaborated to create a low-and moderate-income (LMI) portfolio of energy efficiency programs to improve engagement and deliver energy efficiency and associated bill savings to LMI customers and communities. As part of this statewide effort, CECONY and O&R’s program offerings in 2023 consisted of:

1. CECONY and O&R provided incentives for energy efficiency upgrades in existing multifamily buildings ranging from whole building retrofits to single measure upgrades
2. CECONY and O&R furnished customer referrals and outreach support for energy efficiency upgrades in existing 1-4 family homes through the New York State Energy Research and Development Administration’s EmPower Program
3. CECONY offered energy efficiency “Starter Kits” to customers receiving bill payment assistance through the Energy Affordability Program
4. CECONY and O&R delivered LED lightbulbs to food banks for distribution to customers
5. CECONY incorporated the Smart Kids program into its LMI portfolio in 2023.  The program targets Title 1 schools, and teaches students energy-saving practices through curriculum-integrated lessons and hands-on activities using kits containing energy efficiency equipment. 

Shareholders

Consolidated Edison is the longest continuously listed company on the New York Stock Exchange. And with the January 2024 dividend increase we have increased dividends to shareholders for 50 consecutive years. In January 2024, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of 83 cents a share on its common stock, or $3.32 per share on an annualized basis — an increase of 8 cents over the previous annualized dividend of $3.24 a share. Since 1974, dividends have grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.65 percent.

For more information, refer to our Shareholder Services page.

Con Edison, Inc. Dividend Aristocrat - ED's Historical Dividend Payout dividend payout ratio %

Con Edison, Inc. Dividend Aristocrat - Annualized Dividends Per Share USD $

$4

$3

$2

$1

1975

$0.30

1980

$0.67

1985

$1.20

1990

$1.82

1995

$2.04

2000

$2.18

2005

$2.28

2010

$2.38

2015

$2.60

2020

$3.06

2023

$3.24

2024

$3.32

Stockholder Engagement

Overview

Regular communication with our stockholders enables the company to better understand their viewpoints and to obtain feedback regarding issues that are of interest to them. The company continued to engage in a hybrid format with stockholders. We value stockholder input and are committed to considering such input when making executive compensation and governance decisions.

The chart below represents certain actions that the company takes before, during and after the annual meeting.

1. Annual Meeting	2. Post-Annual Meeting	3. Off-season Engagement and Evaluation of Best Practices	4. Engagement Prior to Annual Meeting
Stockholders may engage with Board members and senior management	Review voting results in light of existing practices, as well as feedback received from stockholders during proxy engagement season and annual meeting	Engage with stockholders to better understand their viewpoints and inform Board and committee discussions	Seek feedback on potential matters for stockholder consideration at the annual meeting
Stockholders may ask questions and voice opinions about the Company, its practices, policies and operations	Review corporate governance trends, regulatory developments and the Company’s corporate governance documents, policies and procedures	Explore corporate ESG best practices	Discuss stockholder proposals with proponents, when appropriate
Voting results for management and stockholder proposals are determined	Determine topics for discussion during off-season stockholder engagement	Report results of stockholder engagement team activities to Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and the Board	Publish annual report and proxy statement
		Evaluate and discuss potential changes to Company executive compensation and governance practices and disclosures

2023 Stockholder Engagement Highlights 

During 2023, Con Edison held its fourth annual ESG webinar and participated in nearly 600 meetings, including investor conferences and virtual and in-person roadshows targeting the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia, with a broad range of stockholders, including index funds, union and public pension funds, actively-managed funds, ESG-focused funds, and stockholder advisory firms.

During 2023, the company engaged virtually with stockholders holding in aggregate 30% of shares outstanding.

Key topics of shareholder engagement included the regulatory proceedings for CECONY and O&R, sale of the Clean Energy Businesses and use of proceeds, our utilities’ Climate Change Adaptation and Resiliency Plans, the company’s corporate strategy, the company’s pursuit of net-zero-carbon-emission goals, capital expenditure outlook, diversity, equity, and inclusion, disclosure practices (including ESG standardized reporting), corporate governance, political spending and lobbying practices, and operations and financial matters.

In response to stockholder feedback received during 2023, the company:

• Continued to enhance disclosures concerning political lobbying activities, resulting in a sustained CPA-Zicklin Index for Corporate Political Disclosure and Accountability score of 100 – one of only seven companies in the S&P 500 to score 100%
• Tracked clean-energy regulatory proceedings that increasingly are being conducted outside of rate filings
• Focused on diversity, equity and inclusion and, as a result, ranked 6th in the Utility sector and 64th overall in As You Sow’s 2023 Racial Justice Public 3000 scorecard;
• Further refined the disclosures in its proxy to, among other things, provide clearer and more accessible information on cybersecurity risk oversight

Throughout the year, the company communicates stockholder feedback to the Board and its committees, and the Board considers this feedback in making its decisions.

Volunteer Programs

While our primary job is to keep energy flowing to our customers, safely, reliably, and in a way that supports New York’s climate goals, our company and employees do much more than that for the community—on and off the clock. Through volunteerism Con Edison employees power the communities where they live and work.

We believe in the power of giving. Our robust volunteer program speaks to Con Edison’s commitment to enhancing the vitality of the communities we serve.

In 2023, more than 400 Con Edison employees dedicated 3,600 hours of their time to nonprofit organizations across our service territory.

We focused our efforts on environmental stewardship, coastal clean-ups, tree canopies and urban gardens to supply people with healthy food options, enhancing the neighborhoods where Con Edison employees live and work.

In addition, the Con Edison Law Department has a robust Pro Bono program. Pro bono is a core value of the legal profession, and the Law Department works diligently to provide legal services to underserved and unrepresented members of our community. In 2023, lawyers and legal professionals in the Law Department participated in twelve pro bono events, devoting approximately 350 hours of free legal services to those in need. This includes a “Utility Day of Service” event in November during which Con Edison partnered with Edison Electric Institute, Pro Bono Institute, and ten other utility companies for a day of service.

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