Press Release

The cold snap that has the region locked in its icy grasp has also been responsible for record-setting natural gas usage by customers of Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (Con Edison). As thermostats were inched up to fend off the effects of the frigid weather, the company reported new highs in both the amount of natural gas used by customers as well as the total amount of gas transported through its gas transmission and distribution system.

"We have had many days of high gas consumption in the past, however, the usage since last weekend has been unprecedented," said Mary Jane McCartney, senior vice president of gas for Con Edison. "The gas delivery system has performed well, and we are pleased to be able to continue to meet our customers' needs under these extreme weather conditions," added McCartney.

This past Monday saw a new customer usage record of 936,000 decatherms, 16.5 percent higher than the previous record-setting day, and a new record for total through-put of almost 1.2 million decatherms, nearly 2 percent higher than the prior record. Over the past seven days, customers have used 5.5 million decatherms of natural gas, while the company's total through-put has been nearly 7 million decatherms.

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.