Utility Company Offers Ways To Save
Con Edison is reminding customers that they can spread their energy costs out over 12 months to ease the impact of gas and electric supply prices, which shot higher in January due to the extreme cold weather.
The company also urges customers to take simple energysaving steps to reduce their bills while staying comfortable.
Natural gas costs climbed in January, as the region experienced colder-than-anticipated weather. The high gas prices are also driving up the cost of electricity, since gas is the fuel used in the generation of most electricity in New York.
Con Edison does not control the price of natural gas or electricity and makes no profit on either commodity. The company uses a variety of buying strategies to get the best price possible and then provides the energy to customers at cost.
Con Edison offers level-payment plans and other options to help customers manage their bills. For more information, go to www.coned.com/customercentral/ma nagemybill.asp
Under the level-payment plan, Con Edison will estimate the customer’s energy usage for a 12- month period and then spread those costs out over 12 months. After 12 months, the company will reconcile the estimates with the customer’s actual energy usage.
Con Edison estimates that a typical residential gas heating customer using 215 therms will have a February 2014 bill of about $388, which is $55, or 16.5 percent, higher than the February 2013 bill. Actual bills could be higher, depending on a customer’s usage.
The rise in gas prices is affecting the electric charges for customers who receive their bills in late January and early February.
A typical New York City residential customer who receives an electric bill this week for 300 kilowatt hours of usage will pay about $118, an increase of $21, or 21.6 percent, over the bill for the same period last year. Con Edison projects that bills sent in early February will include similar increases.
Residential customers can save up to $1,000 and cut heating costs up to 30 percent with Con Edison Green Team rebates. The rebates encourage customers to do simple things like replace older equipment with efficient technology and seal leaks in their home heating systems.
For energy tips and information on Green Team programs visit www.coned.com/greenteam or call 1- 877-870-6118.
Customers also can save money with these tips:
– Set your thermostat at 68 degrees during the day and 60 degrees at night and when no one is home. Each degree over 68 can increase by 3 percent the amount of energy you use for heating.
– Install a programmable thermostat and set it to lower the heat at night and when no one is home.
– Inspect ducts to ensure adequate air flow and eliminate loss of heated air.
– Keep drapes and furniture away from radiators and baseboard heaters so heat can flow freely.
