Press Release

Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc. (Con Edison) announced today that it is joining with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a new partnership to help combat global climate change. At a ceremony in Washington, D.C., the EPA named Con Edison as one of the charter partners in the agency’s SF6 (sulfur hexafluoride) Emissions Reduction Partnership for Electric Power Systems, marking the company as the only New York utility to be participating in this voluntary initiative.

"By entering into this voluntary partnership with the EPA, Con Edison is stepping forward and taking the lead in New York. We are dedicated to protecting the environment and strive to make environmental excellence an integral part of our business practices," said M. Peter Lanahan, Con Edison’s vice president for Environment, Health and Safety.

The initiative presents the company with another measurable way to help reduce its impact on global climate change while augmenting the many steps Con Edison is already taking to protect the environment.

Con Edison is recognized as one of the cleanest utilities in the United States. Its efforts at reducing opacity emissions have been praised by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which referred to the company’s air quality initiatives as "an aggressive program that can serve as a model for the utility industry."

"We’re going to work closely with the EPA, examine the areas of our operations where SF6 is used, set realistic reduction goals, and wherever technically and economically feasible, reduce its use," added Lanahan.

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is a gas used in a variety of utility applications including as an insulating material in electrical transmission and distribution equipment such as circuit breakers.

Con Edison is one of the nation’s largest utility companies, with more than $7 billion in annual revenues and $14 billion in assets. The company, a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison Inc., provides electric, gas and steam service to more than three million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York.