New York · Con Edison
Con Edison delivery charges, and why summer costs more
Con Edison’s delivery charge is what it bills to carry electricity to your premises, separate from the supply you can buy from an ESCO. You cannot shop it. And unlike most tariffs, it is seasonal: June through September cost 28% more per kW than the rest of the year, before you use anything extra.
Every figure here is read from Con Edison PSC No. 10 — Schedule for Electricity Service, SC 2 and SC 9. Reviewed at the start of each month.
The two commercial classes
Under 10 kW you are on SC 2, billed entirely on kilowatt-hours. Above it you are on SC 9, which adds a demand charge and drops the energy rate by more than a factor of ten.
| Charge | SC 2, under 10 kW | SC 9 Rate I, above 10 kW |
|---|---|---|
| Customer charge | $34.00/month | $72.00/month |
| Energy, summer | $0.2038/kWh | $0.0154/kWh |
| Energy, other months | $0.1709/kWh | $0.0154/kWh — not seasonal |
| Demand | None | $44.05 summer, $34.50 otherwise |
Crossing 10 kW can make your bill smaller
This is the opposite of how the same threshold works in Texas, where crossing it multiplies the fixed charge and changes the billing basis against you. In New York the trade is different: you take on a demand charge, but the energy rate falls from $0.2038 to $0.0154 per kilowatt-hour.
A business using 3,000 kWh in July pays about $645.40 on SC 2. The same usage at an 11 kW peak on SC 9 costs about $602.75. Steady consumption with a modest peak is better off above the line, and nothing on the bill suggests checking.
The reverse holds too. A spiky operation — short bursts of heavy load, low total consumption — pays for a peak it barely uses, and would be better off under the threshold if it could get there.
What summer costs
The tariff names the months rather than a temperature: June, July, August and September. Four months at the higher rate, eight at the lower.
| Peak demand | Summer month | Other month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 kW | $661 | $518 | $6783 |
| 50 kW | $2203 | $1725 | $22610 |
| 100 kW | $4405 | $3450 | $45220 |
Demand charges only, on low tension service. Energy, supply and the adjustments under General Rule 26 come on top.
Low tension against high tension
Con Edison prices demand by the voltage it delivers at. It is not a choice you make on a bill — it depends on your service and your building — but it is worth knowing what the difference is worth.
| Service | Summer per kW | Other months | 100 kW per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low tension | $44.05 | $34.50 | $45220 |
| High tension | $30.41 | $21.17 | $29100 |
The reactive power charge
Motors, compressors and older ballasts draw current that flows out and back without doing work. Con Edison bills it separately at $2.56 per kVar under General Rule 10.11, once an account has reached 500 kW in any two months of the preceding annual period and exceeded 300 kW in the current one.
At 600 kW and a 0.85 power factor, that is about 372 kVar — roughly $952 a month, or $11423 a year, for power that does nothing. Correcting power factor reduces the billed quantity directly, which makes the payback calculable from the filed rate.
Con Edison’s treatment is the more legible of the two we have read. CenterPoint in Houston folds reactive power into a kVA billing quantity, where it never appears as its own line and most businesses never learn they are paying it.
What to check on your bill
- Find which service classification you are on — SC 2 or SC 9. It is printed on the bill, and it decides everything else.
- If you are on SC 2 and your peak is near 10 kW, work the comparison. At high usage and a modest peak, SC 9 can be cheaper despite adding a demand charge.
- Compare a summer bill against a winter one before concluding your usage changed. Four months of the year carry a higher rate by tariff.
- If your peak is above 300 kW, look for a reactive power line. At $2.56 per kVar it is worth knowing whether it is running.
- If you crossed 10 kW once and have been under since, count the months — 12 consecutive puts you back on SC 2, but only if someone asks.
We price Con Edison from PSC No. 10. National Grid, NYSEG and Central Hudson we do not price yet, and we would rather say so than imply coverage we do not have.
Send us a Con Edison bill and we’ll check the class and the seasonCommon questions
What is a Con Edison delivery charge?
It is what Con Edison bills to carry electricity over its cables, transformers and meters to your premises, separately from the supply charge that pays for the electricity itself. Delivery is set in the tariff Con Edison files with the New York Public Service Commission and is the same whether you buy supply from Con Edison or an ESCO.
Why is my Con Edison bill higher in summer?
Because the tariff is seasonal. June through September carry higher rates on both energy and demand. A small commercial account pays $0.2038 per kWh in those months against $0.1709 the rest of the year, and a demand-billed account pays $44.05 per kW against $34.50 — 28% more, before you use a single extra kilowatt-hour.
Can I switch away from Con Edison?
You can buy supply from an ESCO instead of Con Edison, which changes the supply half of the bill. You cannot change delivery — Con Edison owns the cables into your building and there is no competing set.
What happens when my business goes over 10 kW?
You move from SC 2 to SC 9, and the basis changes: SC 2 bills everything on kilowatt-hours, SC 9 adds a demand charge per kW and drops the energy rate sharply. Counter-intuitively this can lower a bill. At 3,000 kWh in July, SC 2 costs about $645.40 while SC 9 at 11 kW costs about $602.75 — because SC 2 prices energy at $0.2038 per kWh and SC 9 at $0.0154.
Is high tension service cheaper than low tension?
On demand charges, substantially. A 100 kW account pays about $45220 a year on low tension and $29100 on high tension — a difference of roughly $16120. Whether you can take high tension depends on your service and your building, not on choosing it on a bill.
What is the reactive power demand charge?
A charge of $2.56 per kVar under General Rule 10.11, applied to accounts whose maximum demand reached 500 kW in any two months of the preceding annual period and exceeded 300 kW in the current one, where the meter can record Var. It bills the reactive power motors and compressors draw without converting into work.
How much does poor power factor cost on Con Edison?
At 600 kW and a 0.85 power factor, an account draws about 372 kVar, which at $2.56 per kVar is roughly $952 a month — about $11423 a year for power that does no work. Unlike CenterPoint in Houston, which folds reactive power into a kVA billing quantity, Con Edison shows it as its own line.
If I drop below 10 kW, do I go back to SC 2?
Not immediately. The tariff requires 12 consecutive months at or under the threshold before an account returns to the smaller class. The same twelve-month rule appears in the Ohio and Texas tariffs we have read, which makes it a convention across commissions rather than a Con Edison quirk.
What are Rates II through V?
Higher SC 9 rates on time-of-day terms, mandatory above thresholds of 500, 900, 1500 kW depending on the rate and on whether the account takes service under Rider J. Rate I is the default and covers most commercial accounts; the higher rates apply to large buildings and industrial loads.