Con Edison’s regulated utility engine powers a tighter 2026 outlook

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) raised third-quarter net income by 11% to US$766 million, or US$2.07 a share, as its regulated New York utility operations carried the quarter. The result compared with US$688 million, or US$1.91 a share, a year earlier, while adjusted earnings reached the same US$2.07 a share after excluding a small prior-year accounting adjustment.

Third-quarter growth came from the regulated utilities

Consolidated Edison Company of New York was the main engine. Higher electric rate base contributed US$62 million to quarterly net income, with a further US$9 million from income associated with construction spending and US$8 million from lower healthcare costs. Orange and Rockland added US$3 million, helped by an electric base-rate increase.

Those gains were partly offset by a US$5 million decline at Con Edison Transmission, largely because investment income fell after the sale of the company’s interest in Mountain Valley Pipeline. Common-share issuance also reduced quarterly earnings per share by US$0.05, a reminder that the capital needed to fund the investment programme is not costless for existing holders.

Mountain Valley Pipeline made the nine-month numbers look stronger

For the first nine months, reported net income rose to US$1.998 billion from US$1.726 billion. But that increase includes a US$134 million after-tax gain from selling the MVP interest. On the company’s non-GAAP measure, adjusted earnings increased to US$1.864 billion, or US$5.08 a share, from US$1.718 billion, or US$4.82 a share.

That distinction matters because Con Edison’s full-year forecast is adjusted rather than GAAP earnings. The company narrowed its 2026 adjusted EPS range to US$6.05-US$6.15 from US$6.00-US$6.20, but said it could not provide an equivalent GAAP forecast because year-end transaction costs, tax-equity accounting effects and other adjustments remain undetermined.

Steam rate proposal adds a regulatory catalyst

Con Edison has entered a joint proposal for a new three-year steam rate plan covering November 2026 to October 2029. The proposal includes a 9.5% return on equity and a 48% equity ratio, with annual rate increases of US$26.6 million, US$27.5 million and US$28.5 million designed to produce a 3.5% bill impact in each rate year. The New York State Public Service Commission still has to approve it.

The proposal sits within a larger capital story. Con Edison forecasts an 8.7% five-year compound annual growth rate in its regulated investment base, supported by new substations, building and transport electrification and transmission projects. It also plans approximately US$797 million of climate-resilience investment between 2026 and 2030. Those opportunities depend on regulatory approval and customer affordability, particularly after New York’s 2026 law introduced additional constraints and affordability tests for future rate cases.

Funding growth without losing sight of affordability

The company’s investment plans are substantial: utility capital spending is forecast at US$6.533 billion in 2026 and US$8.571 billion by 2030. Con Edison had issued US$216 million through physically settled equity forwards by September 30 and expects to settle the remaining forward agreements before year-end. Its annualised dividend increase of 4.4% in 2026 also extends a 52-year run of dividend growth.

The tension is visible in the customer data. CECONY’s accounts receivable included US$1.345 billion aged more than 60 days at September 30, although that was down from US$1.427 billion at the end of 2025. At the same time, the company points to bill-discount programmes supporting more than 500,000 customers in 2025. The next test is whether rate-base expansion, resilience spending and electrification demand can continue to earn approval while the affordability debate becomes a more formal part of New York regulation.