Political Engagement
Political Contributions
No Con Edison corporate funds are used directly for political contributions to candidates, political parties, or political committees other than contributions to the Consolidated Edison, Inc. Employees’ Political Action Committee (CEIPAC). No corporate payments have been made, nor do we intend to make payments, to influence the outcome of ballot measures. Additionally, neither Con Edison nor CEIPAC makes independent expenditures in support of or in opposition to, candidates, political parties, or ballot measures. Also, Con Edison does not contribute to “independent expenditure” committees organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code.
The Senior Vice-President of Corporate Affairs of Con Edison Company of New York maintains final authority over the company’s political spending decisions.
Con Edison, Inc.’s Political Action Committee
We have a long standing tradition of civic engagement. Our involvement in the public policy debate and political process is an important, necessary, and appropriate part of doing business. One part of our engagement includes participating in the political process at the municipal, state, and federal levels through political contributions.
CEIPAC is a nonpartisan political action committee. Employees voluntarily contribute personal funds to support both federal and state level elected officials and candidates through campaign contributions. CEIPAC funding supports both federal and state level elected officials and candidates through campaign contributions.
- CEIPAC is primarily funded by voluntary contributions from eligible employees who are not reimbursed.
- Con Edison and its subsidiaries may contribute to the CEIPAC as permitted under state and federal law. CEIPAC administrative expenses are funded entirely through in-kind contributions from Consolidated Edison, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All contributions to CEIPAC are provided in accordance with federal and state laws, rules, and regulations and are reported to relevant federal, state, and local campaign finance authorities as required by law.
- 2020 Corporate Contributions to CEIPAC:
- State CEIPAC: $9,213.90 (in-kind contribution from Con Edison Company of New York to cover CEIPAC administrative expenses)
- Federal CEIPAC: $8,803.92 (in-kind contribution from Con Edison Company of New York to cover CEIPAC administrative expenses)
- Political disbursements made through the CEIPAC are made without regard to the personal or political preferences of company officers and executives.
- CEIPAC is a separate legal entity and is overseen by a board of directors made up of no less than three and no more than five eligible company executives. The eligible executives are: Vice President & Controller of Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (CECONY); Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs of CECONY; President and Chief Executive Officer, Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses; President and Chief Executive Officer of Orange and Rockland; Vice President, Government, Regional and Community Affairs of CECONY. The Senior Vice-President of Corporate Affairs of Con Edison Company of New York maintains final authority over CEIPAC’s political spending decisions.
- CEIPAC’s board factors in many criteria when deciding whether to approve contributions, including a candidate's position on issues; voting records; incumbents’ leadership on key committees, and the extent of a member company's presence in a district.
- Con Edison's internal auditing department conducts periodic reviews of CEIPAC's practices and procedures, and an independent auditing firm also reviews those procedures on a yearly basis.
CEIPAC’s Mission
- To make responsible political statements by raising and contributing funds to political candidates on both sides of the aisle
- To monitor, analyze, and review potential candidates to determine their stance towards the industry and how they might engage with the company and its customers
- To educate elected officials about our business and how their constituents may be affected by particular legislation
- To engage employees in the political process and keep them informed of political news
CEIPAC Disclosure
CEIPAC's contributions and disbursements are publicly available and are reported and properly disclosed in accordance with federal and state laws.
How to Obtain Federal and State CEIPAC Reports
Federal
- Search for “CEIPAC” on the Federal Election Committee website
- Select “Consolidated Edison Employees’ Political Action Committee (CEIPAC)” from the dropdown list
View the previous five years of federal CEIPAC disclosures.
New York State
- Open the New York State Contribution Search website and enter the terms “CON EDISON” and “CONSOLIDATED EDISON” in the “Entity name” field. You must run two separate searches (one using the name “Con Edison” and one using the name “Consolidated Edison”) to capture all contributions attributable to Con Edison.
- Leave the “Contributor Last Name” field blank
- Make sure the “Position” field is set to “Starts with”
- “Date of Contribution” must be included (e.g., 01/01/19 to 12/31/19)
- “Amount of Contribution” both minimum and maximum must be included
View the previous five years of New York State CEIPAC disclosures.
Lobbying
Con Edison's lobbying activities are publicly available and are reported and properly disclosed in accordance with federal, state, and local laws.
How to obtain federal, state, and city lobbying reports:
Federal
Query the Lobbying Disclosure Act Database
Page 1: Select "registrant name" and submit.
Page 2: Select "Consolidated Edison" and submit.
New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics
View Con Edison’s JCOPE reports by executing a client query. Enter Con Edison as the client name and select a registration year.
New York City Clerk, Lobbying Bureau
To perform a NYC Lobbyist Search, enter the following along with as many other fields as desired:
Search By: Lobbyist
Entity Name: Consolidated Edison
Corporate Review of Political Contributions and Lobbying Activities
This information is updated annually and reviewed annually with the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.Grassroots Lobbying
Con Edison did not engage directly or indirectly in grassroots lobbying in 2020.
Industry Groups and Trade Associations
Con Edison is a member of a number of trade associations that may engage in political activities or make political contributions to federal and state candidates and political committees. Con Edison's main purpose of membership in trade associations is the business, technical and industry benefits these organizations provide. Trade organizations take a wide variety of positions on many political matters, not all of which Con Edison supports.
In 2020, Con Edison paid membership dues in excess of $25,000 to the following industry groups and trade associations which spent a percentage of those dues on lobbying. In addition to the portion of Con Edison’s dues that are used by these trade associations for lobbying, we have also detailed those associations’ federal and/or New York State campaign contributions from at least the last five years, where applicable, below.
- American Gas Association: $58,800 (approximately) spent on lobbying.
- Edison Electric Institute: $189,255 spent on lobbying.
- The Partnership for NYC: $2,850 spent on lobbying.
- New Jersey Utilities Association: $7,465.05 spent on lobbying.
- 2015–2020 State Campaign Contributions (forthcoming)
- 2015–2020 Federal Campaign Contributions (forthcoming)
- Energy Coalition of New York: $35,000 spent on lobbying
501(c)(3) Organizations
Con Edison regularly supports a diverse group of federally tax exempt entities organized under the Internal Revenue Code. To the best of Con Edison's knowledge, none of the 501(c)(3) groups that Con Edison supports are engaged in authoring model legislation.
501(c)(4) Organizations
To the best of Con Edison's knowledge, none of the 501(c)(4) groups that Con Edison supports are engaged in authoring model legislation. Con Edison supported the following federally tax exempt, social welfare organizations in the amounts listed below for the purposes specified in 2020:
- Downtown Lower Manhattan Association - $5,000 for corporate membership
- Westchester County Association - $20,000 for corporate membership
- Women’s Forum of New York - $1,000 for corporate membership
- NAACP Staten Island Branch - $2,500 for STAR Saturday Academy Program
- Nyack NAACP - $850 for sponsorship of 61st Annual Membership Dinner
- Spring Valley NAACP - $500 for 40th Annual Life Membership Honorarium sponsorship
Con Edison has supported the following federally tax exempt, social welfare organizations in the amounts listed below in 2021: (updated semi-annually)
- Cleantech Leaders Roundtable - $25,000 for “Clean Energy for America Inaugural Ball”