Editing Consolidated Edison (section)

==History==

[[File:PearlStreetStation.jpg|thumb|left|167px|A sketch of the [[Pearl Street Station]], an early power plant on [[Pearl Street (Manhattan)|Pearl Street]]]]
[[File:Steam Rising from New York City Streets.JPG|thumb|left|167px|As well as gas and electricity, Con Ed supplies steam to New York City]]

In March 1823, Con Edison's earliest corporate predecessor, the New York Gas Light Company, was founded by a consortium of New York City investors. A year later, it was listed on the [[New York Stock Exchange]] (NYSE). Due to the Board of Aldermen's authority to grant franchises in the City of New York in the early to mid-19th century, interaction with [[Tammany Hall]] was required to expand the business. By [[William M. Tweed]]'s reign in the late 1860s as the boss of Tammany Hall, the power to authorize franchises lay with the County Board of Supervisors, of which Tweed had been a member. By 1871, Tweed was a member of the board of the Harlem Gas Light Company, a precursor to the Consolidated Edison Company.<ref>{{cite book|last=Allen|first=Oliver E.|title=The Tiger: The Rise and Fall of Tammany Hall|date=1993|publisher=Addison-Wesley Publishing Company|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tigerrisefalloft00alle/page/54 54–62,100–125]|isbn=0-201-62463-X|url=https://archive.org/details/tigerrisefalloft00alle/page/54|url-access=registration}}</ref> In 1884, six gas companies combined into the Consolidated Gas Company.

In 1901, the Consolidated Gas Company bought [[Edison Illuminating Company]], which had been founded by [[Thomas Edison]] in 1880, first supplying electricity to 59 customers in <!-- square-mile -->a {{convert|1|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} area in lower Manhattan. After the "[[war of currents]]", more than 30 companies were generating and distributing electricity in New York City and Westchester County. But by 1920 there were far fewer, and Consolidated Gas's electricity arm, now called the New York Edison Company, was the leader. In 1936, with electric sales far outstripping gas sales, the company incorporated and the name was changed to Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. 

The New York Steam Company began providing service in [[Lower Manhattan]] in 1882. Con Edison bought it in 1954, and now operates the [[New York City steam system|largest commercial steam system]] in the world, providing steam service to nearly 1,600 commercial and residential establishments in Manhattan from [[Battery Park]] to 96th Street.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.districtenergy.org/archives/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=48| title= 'A Tale of Two Cities – New York' – The New York City Steam System| publisher= International District Energy Association| quote= With district steam service commencing in 1882, Con Edison owns and operates the largest downtown steam system in the world, serving over 1600 buildings with steam supplied from multiple combined heat and power facilities with total capacity of 21,755 (Mlbs/hr) and 627 MW. In 1999, Con Ed completed the ten-year Steam Enhancement program, investing over $200 million in system upgrades and maintenance.| access-date= 2008-01-09}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Consolidated Edison acquired or merged with more than a dozen companies between 1936 and 1960. Con Edison today is the result of [[Mergers and acquisitions|acquisitions]], [[dissolution (law)|dissolutions]], and [[merger]]s of more than 170 individual [[electric]], [[Fuel gas|gas]], and [[steam]] companies.

Consolidated Edison acquired land on the [[Hudson River]] in Buchanan, NY, in 1954 for the [[Indian Point Energy Center|Indian Point nuclear power plant.]] The first reactor (Indian Point 1) began generating power on September 16, 1962. The reactor was shut down on October 31, 1974, because the emergency core cooling system did not meet regulatory requirements. The company built two more reactors at Indian Point during the 1970s: Indian Point 2 and 3. Indian Point 3 was sold to the [[New York Power Authority]] in 1975.<ref>{{cite news |title=At Indian Pt., a 30-Year History of Nuclear Power, Problems and Controversy |url=https://nyti.ms/2Zr9sQ3 |access-date=16 June 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=6 May 1983}}</ref> [[Entergy]] acquired Indian Point 2 in November 2000,<ref name="Archibold">{{cite news |last1=Archibold |first1=Randal C. |title=Con Edison Sells Indian Point 2, Its Last Major Electricity Plant |url=https://nyti.ms/2IUhEnr |access-date=16 June 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=7 September 2000}}</ref> nine months after a steam generator leak.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Newman |first1=Andy |last2=Wald |first2=Matthew L. |title=Leak at Indian Pt. Nuclear Plant Prompts Shutdown and an Alert |url=https://nyti.ms/31yRRYm |access-date=16 June 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=16 February 2000}}</ref> With the sale of Indian Point 2, the last power plant it owned, Consolidated Edison, Inc. became primarily an energy distributor.<ref name="Archibold" />

On January 1, 1998, following the [[deregulation]] of the utility industry in New York State, a holding company, Consolidated Edison, Inc., was formed. It is one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $13 billion in annual revenues and $47 billion in assets. The company provides a wide range of energy-related products and services to its customers through two regulated utility subsidiaries and three competitive energy businesses. Under several corporate names, the company has been traded on the NYSE without interruption since 1824—longer than any other NYSE stock. Its largest subsidiary, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., provides electric, gas, and steam service to more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York, an area of {{convert|660|sqmi|km2}} with a population of nearly 9 million. Also in 1998, Consolidated Edison, Inc. acquired Orange & Rockland Utilities, which is operated separately.<ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0362-4331| last = Holson| first = Laura M.| title = Con Ed Seen Paying $790 Million To Acquire Orange and Rockland| work = The New York Times| access-date = 2018-09-15| date = 1998-05-11| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/11/nyregion/con-ed-seen-paying-790-million-to-acquire-orange-and-rockland.html}}</ref>

Con Edison had invested $3 billion in solar and wind projects. In September 2017 it was announced that the company would invest $1.25 billion in "renewable energy production facilities over the next three years."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://dailyenergyinsider.com/featured/8153-con-edison-makes-investment-clean-energy/|title=Con Edison makes investment in clean energy|last=Kovaleski|first=Dave|date=2017-09-28|work=Daily Energy Insider|access-date=2017-10-10|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928182247/https://dailyenergyinsider.com/featured/8153-con-edison-makes-investment-clean-energy/|archive-date=September 28, 2017|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The company's "renewable portfolio" contained more than 1.5 gigawatts of operating capacity. Seventy-five percent of that capacity came from solar energy. Clean energy accounted for around eight percent of the company's earnings, as of fall 2017.<ref name=":0" /> Con Edison sold its clean energy business to [[RWE]] in 2023.<ref>{{cite web | last=Singer | first=Stephen | date= March 2, 2023 | url=https://www.utilitydive.com/news/rwe-con-edison-sale-clean-energy-businesses/643974/ | title=RWE completes $6.8B acquisition of Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses | website=Utility Dive }}</ref>