As temperatures drop in the city, New Yorkers are turning up the heat, and advocates say another Con Edison rate increase couldn’t come at a worse time.

They argue the cost of staying warm, or just keeping the lights on, is already out of reach for too many families.

What You Need To Know

A City Comptroller report finds nearly one in three New Yorkers is energy insecure and struggling to meet basic utility needs

Con Edison has already scaled back what would have been a double-digit hike. The proposed increase is 2.8% for electricity and 2% for gas

The rate proposal now heads to the Public Service Commission, which has the final say

“These are not optional things. These are necessary things. Energy is a human right,” Michael-Luca Nat, an organizer with the Sunrise Movement, said.

Energy costs even entered the conversation inside the Oval Office.

“If we’re sending fuel at a much lower price than it was a year ago, which is true, we have to get Con Edison to start lowering their rates,” President Donald Trump said during a meeting with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

“If electeds can talk about this, then so can we,” Durga Sreenivasan, founder of Equal Planet, said.

And there’s data behind the concern. A City Comptroller report finds nearly one in three New Yorkers is energy insecure and struggling to meet basic utility needs.

“That’s not something that 30% of New Yorkers should have to choose between: keeping the lights on or a doctor’s visit,” Nat said.

Con Edison has already scaled back what would have been a double-digit hike. The proposed increase is 2.8% for electricity and 2% for gas.

But advocates say even the reduced version lands on top of years of steady increases.

“That’s where this money is going — to fill someone’s pockets,” Sreenivasan said.

In a statement following the president’s comments, Con Edison wrote in part, “We welcome the opportunity to partner with the mayor-elect on solutions that make New York affordable for everyone.”

“In a city that’s already unaffordable to live, any more costs to everyday New Yorkers is still too much,” Nat said.

The rate proposal now heads to the Public Service Commission, which has the final say.