U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal has scheduled a noon news conference to release a letter signed by himself and other members of the Senate, asking Con Edison to think twice about balking on assuming the $8 million to $12 million cost of the 12-day shutdown of Metro North after the September 25 power failure.
The letter is also asking the New York Public Service Commission to force the electric monopoly to use its $700-million stock dividend to pay for the cost of repairs and take charge of the $2 million in fare reimbursements for weekly and monthly ticket holders who lost rides at the end of September. The Metropolitain Transit Authority had approved reimbursements, but with the structure of rail line costs, Connecticut commuters would be paying about 65 percent of their rebates.
Blumenthal will hold the news conference in his Hartford office.