ConEdison Solutions has been awarded a contract by the New York Power Authority to provide upgrades and services to the nation’s largest state-owned power utility, ConEdison Solutions said today.

Under the contract, granted through competitive bids, ConEdison Solutions will provide efficiency upgrades, including  lighting, motors and controls at NYPA plants in Westchester and New York City.

Services will include conducting feasibility studies, evaluating existing and proposed systems, developing designs, purchasing equipment, installation, supervision of installation and commissioning of equipment, said White Plains-based ConEdison Solutions, a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison Inc.

The amount of the contract will be based on costs associated with individual projects and has yet to be determined, said ConEdison Solutions spokeswoman Christine Nevin. However, the contract’s value is estimated to be in the “low millions,” she said.

Monthly electric bills could climb 21 percent for Westchester County residents this summer in response to soaring costs to produce power from oil and natural gas.

Utility Consolidated Edison Inc. estimated that a typical Westchester residential customer using 500 kilowatt hours could face a monthly bill of $125.50 this summer, up from $103.48 a year ago. Business customers in Westchester and New York City could see their summer electric bills climb as much as 25 percent.

The higher utility costs could be an added burden for households already struggling with rising food and energy prices, including gasoline prices over $4 a gallon.

Con Edison, which serves 3.2 million customers in New York City and Westchester, said higher oil and natural gas are to blame.

“Fuel prices have gone up exponentially as anyone who has passed a gas station knows,” said Chris Olert, a spokesman for Con Edison.

Producing electricity from natural gas has gotten more expensive with natural gas prices up 39 percent this year. That can have a significant impact on Con Edison and its customers because about 43 percent of the power used in its service territory is generated from natural gas. Oil-generated power, which accounts for about 6 percent of electricity consumed in the region, also is more expensive with petroleum prices soaring to new records.

Con Edison buys most of that electricity from other suppliers and distributes it to local customers.

“Our objective is to get the best deal we can for customers,” Olert said.

The higher bills also include a rate increase of 4.7 percent approved by the state Public Service Commission in March.

Olert suggested that customers turn to conservation to keep their utility costs manageable. Con Edison offers a list of energy saving tips at www.coned.com/customercentral/energysavings.asp

“If you use less, you pay less,” Olert said.

SmartWatt Energy Services reports it has opened an office in Harrison to service the New York City metropolitan area.

SmartWatt, which provides services and products for reducing energy consumption, has offices in the Albany area and Rochester.

New York’s senior senator, Charles Schumer, lashed out at the state’s Public Service Commission today, calling its demands “irrational and illogical,” following a non-binding ruling by an administrative law judge Monday to reject Iberdrola SA’s $4.5 billion buyout of Energy East Corp., parent to New York State Electric & Gas Corp.

NYSEG has nearly 90,000 customers in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties.

The commission is seeking “to place severe restrictions on the world’s leading wind power producer,” Schumer said in a written statement.

In his ruling, the judge urged the commission, should it decide to go ahead with the buyout, to require Iberdrola to sell of all of its wind-energy assets in the state, among other conditions.

But Schumer said that stipulation would risk jobs and a $2 billion investment in the state’s economy. The Democrat said he is seeking to meet with PSC Chairman Garry A. Brown about Iberdrola’s bid, which likely will be withdrawn if PSC rejects the plan.

“I am requesting this meeting to discuss the importance of brokering a deal that will keep customer rates low, provide system reliability and bring much-needed wind power to New York,” Schumer said.

The PSC is expected it issue its ruling on the buyout next month.

New York is the last of four Northeastern states to weigh in on the deal. Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine have approved the buyout.