In today’s New York Times piece on how Con Ed has worked to keep the lights on, Queens Assemblyman Michael N. Gianaris said of the New York City electricity provider that “the company had still not pumped enough money into modernizing its infrastructure.”
Why, then, has Gianaris sponsored legislation that would require utilities like Con Ed to pay their subcontractors a “prevailing wage” above market rates? The measure is expected to cost the utilities an extra $50 million annually — money that they won’t have for infrastructure investment.
Though lawmakers in both houses have passed the bill, the governor hasn’t signed it yet.
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