Electricity is something we’re all going to pay for – one way or another – throughout our lives. And while it’s easy to put utility payments on auto-pilot, it’s worth knowing the price you’re paying for electricity so you can consider ways to lower it.

For around 3.6 million New Yorkers, the price of electricity is set by Con Edison – the state’s largest electricity provider.

So, to help you understand the price you’re paying for electricity (and how to lower it), we’re taking a look at Con Edison electricity rates in 2024.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• Con Edison electric rates in 2024
• Standard and time-of-use rate plans
• Past and future rate increases
• Con Edison versus solar
• Frequently asked questions

Let’s begin with a look at Con Edison current rates for residential customers.

How much does Con Edison charge per kWh in 2024?

As of February 2024, Con Edison’s standard residential electricity rate is just over 24 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). This rate is a combination of Con Edison’s current delivery charges (14.1 cents per kWh) and supply charges (10.3 cents per kWh). However, Con Edison has several rate plans, each with unique rates that can vary by season, time of day, and your monthly usage.

Con Edison rates are a combination of two things:

• Supply charges: The cost of the electricity you use
• Delivery charges: The cost of getting that electricity to your home

Con Edison separates supply and delivery charges on their bills, as shown below. To find your total cost per kWh of electricity for the month, simply add the two rates together.

What’s the average electricity bill in New York?

The average electricity bill for residential Con Edison customers in New York is around $170 per month. This is based on an average usage of 600 kWh per month at 24 cents per kWh, an $18 basic service charge, taxes, and surcharges.

Of course, electricity bills quite a bit based on your consumption for the month and your rate plan. Next, we’ll take a look at the residential rate plans offered by Con Edison.

Con Edison rate plans in 2024

Con Edison offers both standard and time-of-use (TOU) rates to residential customers.

• EL1 – Rate I – The standard rate plan for residential customers
• EL1 – Rate II – A TOU plan for customers who voluntarily enrolled before March 2014
• EL1 – Rate III – A TOU plan for customers who voluntarily enroll(ed) after March 2014

Let’s take a closer look at each one…

Con Edison Standard Rates: EL1 – Rate I

The Rate I plan is the default option for residential Con Edison customers and comes with an $18 monthly basic service charge. In this plan, delivery charges are the same for most of the year, but jump in the summer when you exceed 250 kWh of usage in a month.

Remember: These are only delivery charges. Your total electricity rate also includes supply charges, which averaged around 8 cents per kWh throughout the year in 2023.

It’s also worth noting that the average household in New York uses ~600 kWh of electricity per month. So, you can expect to surpass the 250 kWh threshold in the summer when you’re running your air conditioner.

Con Edison TOU Rates: EL1 – Rates II

The Rates II plan is a time-of-use plan, which means the cost of electricity varies based on “Peak” and “Off-Peak” periods throughout the day. This plan has an $18 per month basic service charge and is only available to Con Edison customers who voluntarily opted into it before March 1, 2014.

Beginning January 1, 2024 delivery charges for the Rates II plan are as follows:

Again, these are only delivery charges. Supply charges also vary based on Peak and Off-Peak periods. In 2023, Peak supply charges exceeded 13 cents per kWh in the summer, pushing the combined rate for this plan north of 70 cents per kWh!

Con Edison TOU Rates: EL1 – Rates III

Rates III is Con Edison’s (relatively) new TOU plan for residential customers that voluntarily opt-in on or after March 1, 2014. As of January 1, 2024 this plan has a basic service charge of $19 per month and delivery charges ranging from 2.33 cents to 33.05 cents per kWh.

Rates III also has different Peak and Off-Peak windows than Rates II. Peak delivery charge rates in this plan are between 8 am and midnight every day of the week, as shown below.

Remember: These are only delivery charges! Supply charges are going to push your combined rate up by 5-12 cents per kWh depending on the time of year – and much more in the summer.

That’s because this plan also includes a Super-peak window from 2-6 pm on summer weekdays. During these Super-peak periods in 2023, supply charges for this plan were north of 30 cents per kWh in the suburbs, and exceeded 80 cents per kWh in New York City.

That means if you live in the city you could be charged over $1.10 per kWh between 2-6 pm on summer weekdays!

Is Con Edison Raising Rates in 2024?

Yes, Con Edison has been approved to raise electricity rates in 2024 and 2025. In July 2023, state regulators approved rate hikes for 2023, 2024, and 2025.

For a household using 600 kWh per month, these hikes are expected to raise the average monthly electricity bill by $24 per month.

Approved Con Edison Rate Hikes for 2023-2025

So, if your average bill was $170 before the 2023 hike, you can expect it to climb to $194 in 2025.

The rate hikes in 2023-2025 are on par with the last 10 years. Since 2014, the base delivery charge for the Rate I plan has increased from 9 to 14 cents per kWh. That’s an average of 4% per year, which is slightly higher than the national average of 3% per year.

And these annual rate hikes are to be expected. As a monopoly, regulated utilities like Con Edison legally can’t profit from of the electricity they sell. Instead, they make money by building infrastructure and charging their customers a premium for it through delivery rates.

So, until the aging central grid is fully updated or Con Edison’s investors decide they don’t need to make a profit, it’s safe to expect future rate hikes.

Con Edison Rates Versus Solar

While most homeowners try to reduce their energy consumption in order to reduce their electricity bill, rooftop solar allows you to reduce the price you pay for electricity – especially in New York.

New York is home to some of the best solar incentives in the US. These include:

• Net metering
• 30% federal tax credit
• 25% state tax credit (up to $5,000)
• NYSERDA rebates worth $200 per kW installed
• Property and sales tax exemptions

Let’s say you use 750 kWh per month and you’re sick of your high Con Edison bills (especially in the summer). How much could you save by going solar?

With New York’s sun, you’d need a 9 kW solar system to offset your usage (which you can do through net metering). If the gross price of the system is $30,000, you can use federal and local incentives to bring the net cost down to $14,740.

Here’s how that compares to buying grid electricity from Con Edison with rates rising at an average rate of 4% per year.

By generating your own electricity, you not only replace your erratic Con Edison bills with flat monthly payments for solar, you can substantially lower your essential electricity costs.

Con Edison rates FAQs

Did Con Edison raise their rates?

Con Edison made the first of three approved electricity rate increases in August 2023. This rate hike increased the average residential electricity bill by 9.1% or $14.44 per month. Further rate hikes are approved for 2024 and 2025 to pay for infrastructure upgrades.

How much is electricity in NYC per kWh?

The average cost per kWh of electricity in New York City is 24 cents per kWh, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Your exactly electricity rate depends on your rate plan, season, and time of day.

What are peak hours for Con Ed NYC?

Peak hours for Con Edison’s Rate III time-of-use plan are between 8 am and midnight from June to September. This plan also features Super Peak hours between 2 and 6 pm on summer weekdays.

In 2024, electricity delivery charges will be 33 cents per kWh during Peak and Super Peak hours. Delivery charges are in addition to supply charges. In 2023, supply charges exceeded 80 cents per kWh during Super Peak hours in New York City to bring the combined electricity rate north of $1.10 cents per kWh.

Update Feb. 1, 2024: A group of state lawmakers are introducing legislation to roll back Assembly Bill 205, which mandated income-based utility rates in California. This effort is ongoing. Check back for updates.

In April 2023, California’s three investor-owned utilities (IOUs) — PG&E, SDG&E, and SCE — captured national headlines by proposing income-graduated fixed charges between $85-128 per month for the state’s highest earners.

The prospect of $128 per month in electricity charges that can’t be offset by home solar has left many current and prospective solar owners on edge. However, there are plenty of reasons to believe the fixed charges proposed by the IOUs are many times higher than what the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will approve — or may not happen at all.

In this article, we’ll explore:

• What are income-graduated fixed charges?
• Why the CPUC is unlikely to approve $85-125 charges
• What level of fixed charges IOU customers can expect
• The timetable for implementing income-graduated fixed charges

Let’s get started with a quick overview of income-graduated charges and how they impact solar owners.

What are income-graduated fixed charges?

Since this is the first policy of its kind, it’s worth taking a second to break down what income-graduated fixed charges in your electricity bill mean.

• Fixed charges refer to flat, monthly electricity charges that can’t be offset by solar or any other means
• Income-graduated means that the fixed charges vary based on household income, with higher-income households having higher charges

For example, under the IOU proposal, SCE customers with a household income below $28,000 would have a $15 fixed charge while customers with a household income above $180,000 would have an $85 fixed charge.

The passing of Assembly Bill 205 in 2022 mandates the CPUC to authorize at least three tiers of income-graduated fixed charges for all California IOU customers, regardless of whether they have solar panels. But exactly how these charges will be structured has yet to be determined.

Why would California have a power bill based on income?

Proponents of income-graduated fixed charges argue that higher fixed charges will reduce electricity rates to make home electrification upgrades more affordable and beneficial for low-income households. Income-graduated charges would also reduce the electricity burden of low-income households who spend a far greater percentage of their income on electricity than high-income households.

Meanwhile, opponents argue that millions of households in the highest income bracket will have higher electricity bills despite using less electricity, and will therefore be punished for adopting energy efficiency practices, including home solar.

The main concern for existing and future solar owners is that they will be unable to offset fixed charges with their excess solar production, thus reducing the monthly bill savings of their system.

Related reading: How Much Is The Average Electric Bill in California?

Ask for a dollar, expect a dime

According to the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA), nobody in or around the California solar industry expects the CPUC to adopt the $85-128 monthly fixed charges proposed by the IOUs — including the IOUs themselves.

For context, 173 investor-owned utilities across the US currently offer fixed electricity charges – none of which are based on income, according to economist Ahmad Faruqui. The median charge is $10 per month and the highest is $40 per month.

The IOUs’ proposal may be following a historic trend whereby utilities propose much larger figures with the expectation of getting much less than requested, as indicated by a July 2023 memo from CALSSA:

“It is our assessment that the CPUC will not approve fixed charges of that magnitude and that the utilities don’t expect to get approval for the amount they are requesting. It is a typical strategy for the utilities to propose far more than they expect to get approval for.”

Before income-graduated charges, the IOUs’ earliest NEM 3.0 proposal featured a $60 monthly fee for solar owners (better known as a “solar tax”) that had little chance of making the final policy. As expected, the solar tax was not accepted by the CPUC, but simply proposing this new fee was enough to grab headlines and sow seeds of doubt in the value of home solar.

What level of income-graduated fixed charges should Californians expect?

While the IOUs made headlines by proposing fixed charges between $85 and $128 for high-income households, the policy experts at CALSSA are expecting the CPUC to adopt top-end charges in the ballpark of $15 per month and, in the worst-case scenario, up to $35 per month.

The primary reason to expect lower charge amounts is pretty simple: Stakeholders strongly dislike income-graduated fixed charges.

• Utility customers hate income-graduated charges because it may require sharing personal income data with their utilities and eat into solar savings;
• Republican state legislatures oppose them because the charges were “jammed through the legislative process in three days with no real deliberation, discussion, or debate on policy committees” and act as a “regressive tax“, according to a letter sent by the state’s Republican caucus;
• And the CPUC is in a precarious position because it is mandated to authorize unpopular fixed charges despite having no good solutions for verifying household income.

In fact, on June 19, the CPUC indicated it intends to start with low charges and proceed slowly. Administrative Law Judge Stephanie Wang ruled:

“A gradual approach will allow the Commission to gain experience from the first version of (income-graduated fixed charges) and conduct research and solicit stakeholder input before providing design guidance for the next version of (income-graduated fixed charges).”

The policy experts at CALSSA interpret this ruling as a sign that the CPUC wants to dip its toe into income-graduated charges instead of diving in head first.

When will California’s income-graduated fixed charges take effect?

Update: A group of state lawmakers is trying to repeal AB 205 and get rid of income-based charges before they ever take place. This effort was announced on January 30, 2024 and is ongoing. Check back for future updates.

Also tucked in the CPUC’s June 19, 2023 ruling is a timeline for adopting and implementing fixed charges. The CPUC intends to do the following:

• Adopt a proposal in April 2024
• Implement it no earlier than the end of 2026
• Allow several years to study it before potentially adjusting the charges

CALSSA takes this means a maximum charge of $15-20 starting in late 2026 that could gradually be increased around 2030.

While any fixed utility charge is a thorn in the side for solar owners, a $15-20 dollar would make a minimal impact on monthly bill savings. A $35 monthly charge would be more substantial and, although it is a possibility, CALSSA is working to make sure it does not happen in the first iteration of the policy.

If you are considering investing in home solar — or already have — it’s worth paying attention to the income-graduated fixed charges, as they will impact your overall savings. But don’t miss the forest for the trees! The $15-20 charges expected to be implemented by late 2026 at the earliest leave more than enough room to see a healthy return on investment for California solar owners.