NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 10/24/09 -- Con Edison today joined legendary entertainer Bette Midler's New York Restoration Project (NYRP) and the New York City Parks Department to plant 5,000 trees at Alley Pond Park in Queens, Marine Park in Brooklyn, and Ocean Breeze Park on Staten Island.

The company paid for the trees with money from customers who have enrolled in Con Edison's e*bill program, the paperless, environmentally friendly payment option. The company donates $1 to the NYRP for each customer who signs up for e*bill. The company has enrolled more than 179,000 customers in the paperless billing option since 2007. Customers can visit www.coned.com/ebill to enroll.

"When Con Edison customers sign up for e*bill, they are making a small contribution that will have an immediate and lasting effect on the environment, the communities we live in, and our quality of life," said Marilyn Caselli, senior vice president of Customer Operations at Con Edison. "I encourage all customers to sign up. It's an easy way to cut down on paper consumption, and residents will enjoy these trees for decades to come."

Today's initiative was part of "It's My Park Day" which is linked to MillionTreesNYC, one of 127 programs under Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC, the city's sweeping, long-term sustainability blueprint. The public-private initiative has established a goal of planting and caring for one million new trees across the city's five boroughs by 2017. Since the initiative launched in October 2007, more than 252,000 trees have been planted, putting MillionTreesNYC 20 percent ahead of schedule.

Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED), one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $14 billion in annual revenues and $34 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit Con Edison's Web site at www.conEd.com.

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=1097186