The Rye City Council voted 5-2 on Wednesday to renew Rye’s agreement with Westchester Power, a county-wide renewable energy program, rather than switch to Con Edison.
Westchester Power aims to address climate change in a region that is 93 percent dependent on fossil fuels like gas and oil.
The ambitious plan aims to reduce statewide carbon production and transition to renewable energy sources by providing residents and small businesses a locally chosen alternative to the state-mandated utility, ConEd, for energy supply, according to Westchester Power Executive Director Noam Bramson, who gave a presentation to the City Council earlier this month.
The Westchester Power program, led by Sustainable Westchester, a non-profit service provider, removed 328,000 metric tons of carbon in 2024, which is equivalent to the environmental benefits of removing 76,000 cars from the road or planting 5.4 million trees, Bramson said.
Rye has opted into the plan since 2019, along with 26 other municipalities in Westchester with 130,000 residents and small businesses. Although opting into the program does not directly affect clean energy in Rye, it does contribute to the long-term goal of increasing the use of renewable energy in the county.
“It is a recognition that this is a large-scale challenge, therefore it is necessary to have a vision and to have solutions which are similarly large scale, they can’t be community specific,” said Bramson, who is also the former Democratic mayor of New Rochelle. “We’re all part of this integrated network and the instruments and the program that I’m describing to you is cognizant of that and impactful through that integrated network.”
With Rye’s renewing the contract, residents are automatically enrolled in the program selecting Westchester Power as their energy provider, instead of Con Edison — unless they opt out. About 50 percent of Rye households have opted out of the Westchester Power plan, according to city officials.
The City Council vote at Wednesday’s meeting followed a lively discussion. Republican councilmen Bill Henderson and Keith Cunningham voted against the measure.
“I think it’s a shame we’re taxing innocent residents of Rye by forcing them to be signed up with Westchester Power,” Cunningham said, adding that he is not for or against renewable energy.
Henderson, who is running for mayor, criticized the program for not directly producing clean energy in Rye and because it is the default opt-in for residents.
“We’re not buying renewable energy just to be used in Rye, what we’re doing is subsidizing renewable energy from upstate New York, some of which flows into our grid and some of which doesn’t,” Henderson said.
Henderson has called it “sneaky” to put people into a program they are unaware of by making Westchester Power the default energy program for Rye residents instead of Con Edison. Cunningham has agreed, saying that some residents opted-out of the program only after realizing they were included by default.
Bramson said at the previous meeting that those who opted out will remain unenrolled, and he argued it is presumptuous to assume many enrollees do not value renewable energy, a good deal, the program’s goals, or expanded choice. Additionally, he said it is unfair to presume that most residents do not realize they are in the program.
“The effect of pulling out of this program is saying to people, ‘You have to go to ConEd whether you like it or not,’” Bramson said.
Con Edison is currently requesting more than 10 percent rate hikes from the state Public Service Commission. If approved, those rate increases would take effect in January 2026.
Democratic Councilman Josh Nathan said he voted in favor of the program to “protect energy choice of residents,” calling it a matter of “common sense.”
“With Rye offering Westchester Power, residents can choose based on price, fluctuating or fixed, and whether to support renewable energy; moreover, they can switch their choice at any time,” said Nathan, who also is running for mayor. “If Rye stops participating in Westchester Power, these choices are taken away from residents.”
Nathan also disagreed with Henderson’s assessment, arguing that there is no way to measure and trace energy back to specific households.
“Overall, we’re reducing the fossil fuel usage in the state of New York, of which we are a member, and the southern tier, which includes all of Westchester County,” he said.
