How to Read Your Con Edison Bill and Find Support

Separate your current charges from the total balance

Read a Con Edison bill in three passes: reconcile the account balance, compare electricity and gas usage separately, then examine supply, delivery, taxes and assistance. Start with the service listed on the statement rather than the size of the total. Official resources were checked October 26, 2026; quoted prices, household eligibility and program availability still require an account-specific check.

A large Con Edison balance can reflect several different things: energy used this period, delivery costs, taxes, adjustments, or an older amount still owed. If your account includes both electricity and gas, the total can also combine two different energy services.

This guide applies to Con Edison in New York City and Westchester. It does not describe Southern California Edison or ComEd. Use the name and service details on your own statement before following a utility-specific guide.

Start with the account summary

Compare your statement with Con Edison's residential sample bill. Identify the period covered, payments received, unpaid amounts, new charges, and balance due. Check that the service address and account details are correct.

If your statement combines electricity and gas, review each section separately. Electricity use in kWh cannot be compared directly with gas consumption in a different unit. A higher combined total does not tell you which service changed.

For electricity, divide kWh by the number of billing days. Compare that daily average with a similar season and look at your household's activities. More cooling, electric heating, or vehicle charging can affect electricity use, while a gas-heated home's seasonal pattern may show up elsewhere on the statement.

A worked balance example: what belongs to this period?

Consider an invented combined statement with $90 in unpaid charges, an $80 payment, $125 in new electricity charges, $55 in new gas charges and a $10 adjustment credit. The resulting balance is $90 minus $80 plus $125 plus $55 minus $10, or $180. Only $125 represents the new electricity charges in this example. Neither the $180 due nor the $180 of combined new energy charges can be treated as an electricity-only cost.

The example deliberately keeps the arithmetic simple. Your account may include other payments, adjustments or fees. Read the labels and retain the positive or negative sign for each amount. If the utility rebills a period, ask which earlier charges were reversed and which replacement charges remain. Counting the old charge and replacement together can create an apparent overcharge that the account summary may already offset.

Normalize usage before blaming a price increase

Imagine two fictional electricity periods: 420 kWh over 28 days and 480 kWh over 32 days. Each works out to 15 kWh per day. The longer period contains 60 additional kWh without a rise in average daily consumption. Dollar totals can still differ because of rates, credits, adjustments or other components. Write down both the daily usage and the current service charges so the two questions remain separate.

For gas, perform the comparison using the gas unit shown on that statement and the gas billing dates. Do not add electricity kWh to gas therms or compare their raw unit totals. If the combined bill rises during heating season, first determine which service increased. This avoids spending time troubleshooting electrical appliances when the larger change is in a separately billed heating fuel.

Follow supply, delivery, and taxes

Con Edison's bill explanation separates supply, delivery, and taxes. Supply concerns the electricity or gas purchased; delivery concerns the utility system that brings it to you. Taxes are another component.

If you buy energy from an energy service company, often called an ESCO, check the supplier's name and the applicable pricing. A different supplier does not automatically mean that delivery service disappears. Con Edison's energy-supplier information explains its continuing role. Read any proposed supplier agreement before switching, including renewal terms and how prices can change.

Compare like-for-like components. Adding a subtotal to a total that already includes it will exaggerate the cost. Looking only at supply can leave out a substantial part of what you actually owe.

Investigate a sudden change

Check the statement's meter information and any adjustments or delayed charges. Con Edison's billing FAQs discuss supply-price changes, estimated usage, and delayed bills. If something is unclear, ask the company to explain the dates and amounts involved rather than assuming that an unusual balance is a new monthly norm.

Try this request: “Please separate my new electricity and gas charges from any earlier balance or adjustment. Can you explain the readings and the change from my last comparable bill?” Keep the explanation with the statement so you can follow up on the same issue.

Make a short evidence sheet for an estimated or corrected bill

Con Edison's billing FAQs identify estimated reads and delayed bills among the reasons a statement can change. Record the start and end dates, whether readings are actual or estimated, the units billed and any correction messages. Look at the earlier statements covered by an adjustment, not just the most recent month. A catch-up amount cannot be evaluated accurately if the earlier estimates are missing.

If a meter is safely accessible, follow the utility's own instructions for submitting a reading or photograph; do not open equipment, bypass a lock or enter an unsafe area. A photograph taken today is not automatically the reading for a statement that ended earlier. Ask the utility how it uses the information and what response to expect. Save the submission confirmation alongside the original bill.

Check an ESCO offer against the component it can change

An energy service company supplies energy; Con Edison says it continues delivery and utility service functions when a customer chooses an ESCO. Compare a supplier's proposed price against the matching supply component. A headline discount on supply is not the same percentage off the entire statement because delivery and other charges remain part of the bill.

Before accepting an offer, put the term, fixed or variable pricing, renewal method and any fees in writing. Check whether the comparison uses the same service, units and time period. Do not calculate an annual saving by applying a temporary introductory price to twelve months unless the written offer actually preserves that price for the full period. This is a comparison method, not a recommendation for a particular supplier.

Find support through official programs

Con Edison's financial-assistance page describes programs including the Energy Affordability Program and assistance connected with HEAP. These have eligibility requirements; a program name on a website does not establish your household's approval. The page also describes Statewide Solar for All/REACH bill credits for certain EAP customers in designated disadvantaged communities. Those credits do not require equipment installation at your home; check the current program conditions with Con Edison.

Use the official page to reach the appropriate application and current program information. For payment arrangements, start with Con Edison's payment plans and assistance hub. Ask what you must pay now, how future bills are handled, and whether any separate assistance application is needed.

If a shutoff deadline is approaching, raise it immediately with customer service and the assistance provider. Keep a record of any agreement. Understanding the bill and arranging help can happen at the same time; you do not need to finish a lengthy energy investigation before asking what support is available.

Separate a payment arrangement from a recurring discount

Use Con Edison's official payment-assistance hub to ask about an arrangement for an existing balance. Request the amount due immediately, the installment schedule, treatment of new charges and consequences of a missed payment. A manageable installment still needs to fit alongside the next regular bill. Ask for a schedule you can keep rather than accepting a number that ignores ongoing service.

The Energy Affordability Program has its own qualifying pathways, and HEAP is a separate assistance route. Follow the current application instructions instead of assuming that an old approval, a program name or an article establishes enrollment. Keep the application receipt and ask how to confirm that a discount or benefit has actually reached the account. Avoid budgeting an unapproved payment as if the money has already posted.

Keep solar bill credits distinct from a rooftop purchase

Con Edison's published S-SFA/REACH description links participation to qualifying EAP enrollment and a designated disadvantaged community. The program route described there does not require installing solar equipment at your home. That is a utility-bill assistance mechanism, with its own conditions, rather than proof that an installer will provide a free rooftop system.

Before following a sales message, return to the official assistance page and confirm the program name. Ask whether the offer involves an account credit, a supplier agreement, community solar or a rooftop contract. Those arrangements have different responsibilities. You can seek help understanding a utility bill without sharing your statement with a solar salesperson or applying for a loan.

Close the loop on the next statement

Choose a specific item to check next month: the payment that should post, an agreed installment, a correction for named dates or a new approved discount. Keep the reference number and promised response date with the statement. If the item is missing, follow up using those records so the next representative can identify the original request.

When a disconnection deadline is involved, contact Con Edison promptly and ask what action is required while a review or assistance request is pending. Do not assume that sending documents creates a hold. Give the utility any relevant household circumstances through its official support channel. A clear record helps you pursue billing accuracy and affordability at the same time without confusing one issue with the other.

Frequently asked questions

Questions worth asking

• Why does my Con Edison bill show both supply and delivery?
• Do I need solar panels at home for Statewide Solar for All or REACH bill credits?
• Where can I ask Con Edison for payment help?
• Can I divide my entire Con Edison balance by electricity kWh to find my rate?
• How should I compare statements with different billing periods?
• Does choosing an ESCO eliminate Con Edison delivery charges?
• Does a HEAP or EAP application mean my balance is paid?
• What should I save when I question an estimated or corrected bill?