Press Release

NEW YORK, May 29, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- In pursuit of its goal to become the premier provider of high bandwidth transport services for the New York metropolitan area, Con Edison Communications (CEC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED) today announced its PowerLan Ethernet services for business and carrier customers. PowerLan services, available in point-to-point and switched configurations, provide a high-bandwidth, low-cost alternative to private line and legacy network services like frame relay and ATM. PowerLan services are available immediately.

Corporate networking is composed of two distinct worlds. Networking within a building is based upon standard Ethernet featuring high bandwidth, low costs, and great flexibility. When networks leave a building however, they have been force fit into the inflexible, voice-centric telecommunications infrastructure. The transition from internal to external networks has greatly increased network cost and complexity. What's more, companies have had to purchase bandwidth in discrete amounts by acquiring T-1, T-3, or OC-n private lines or network services like frame relay or ATM. While customers have lamented this dichotomy, there was never an alternative- until now.

Con Edison Communication's PowerLan Ethernet services bridges this historical networking gap. PowerLan services are fully compliant with the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard and feature:

    -   Variable throughput speeds. PowerLan services are available at
        speeds between 10Mbs and 1Gbs in increments as low as 1Mbs.
        Customers can start with the bandwidth they need today and
        have the flexibility to add incremental bandwidth without
        suffering through long provisioning cycles or expensive
        equipment purchases.
    -   Ethernet-based MAN services. PowerLan can connect a customer's
        office buildings and data centers over a high-speed Ethernet
        backbone across the New York metropolitan area. This allows
        companies to eliminate costly legacy services while providing
        scaleable networking solutions for data center consolidation
        and next-generation applications.
    -   Resilient Ethernet architecture. PowerLan services are built
        with a resilient network architecture through the use of
        redundant Layer 2 switches in the network core, Wavelength
        Division Multiplexing (WDM) technology, and Ethernet switches
        served through redundant fiber strands to customer premises.
        This infrastructure greatly improves upon standard Ethernet
        availability and resiliency and makes PowerLan services a
        worthwhile, cost-effective option for mission critical
        traffic.
    -   Traffic prioritization. PowerLan services utilize IEEE
        802.1p/Q to provide 4 levels of priority queuing. This allows
        CEC customers to engineer network traffic based upon business
        rules.
    -   True network diversity. PowerLan services are the only
        Ethernet offering built upon a unique set of network routes
        through the electrical conduit system in Manhattan. All other
        services use the Empire City Subway (ECS) conduits. Network
        diversity ensures that in the event of a fiber cut or
        disruption, PowerLan services will remain intact.

PowerLan services offer customers superior, state-of-the-art Ethernet and optical networking technology, but what really sets PowerLan services apart from the competition is the strength of Con Edison Communications. While many startup Ethernet providers lease last-mile connections to office buildings, CEC builds and operates its own network making it a one-stop-shop for end-to-end Ethernet requirements. CEC also features a world-class support infrastructure to minimize network outages and provide superior customer service and support. "CEC is 100% owned by Con Edison, Inc., an A-rated, Fortune 500 company."

"Ethernet technology is already impacting the cost economics of telecommunications and enabling a new generation of network-centric business applications," states Peter Rust, President and CEO of Con Edison Communications. "With the introduction of PowerLan, our customers can come to CEC to procure the most comprehensive Ethernet services available in the New York area. This is just another reason why Con Edison Communications is the `smart alternative' for telecommunications services."

About Con Edison Communications

Con Edison Communications, Inc. (CEC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. CEC offers a comprehensive range of transport products and services designed to enhance the performance of its customers' networks. CEC builds and operates its own fiber optic network providing managed data transport services and custom network solutions to multiple classes of customers, including local and long-distance carriers, Fortune 1000 corporations, and Internet, cable, wireless and video companies. CEC's NYC metro area network currently interconnects over 80 commercial buildings, all of the major POPs and many of the Verizon Central Offices in New York City. CEC's extensive network enables it to light off-net buildings needing service faster than other providers. Additional information about CEC is available at http://www.electricfiber.com/.

About Consolidated Edison, Inc.

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) is one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $10 billion in annual revenues and $17 billion in assets. The company provides a wide range of energy-related products and services to its customers through two regulated utility subsidiaries and four competitive energy and telecommunications businesses. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit the Consolidated Edison, Inc. web site at http://www.conedison.com./.

CONTACT: Con Edison Communications, Robert Jewels, 212.324.5030, PR@electricfiber.com, or
Weber Shandwick Worldwide, Adam Cormier, 617.520.7238, acormier@webershandwick.com