New York · New York State Public Service Commission (NYPSC)

Auditing Con Edison commercial bills

New York City's five boroughs and most of Westchester County.

Con Edison delivers electricity across New York City and Westchester County, along with gas and steam service in parts of its territory. Its commercial accounts are billed under service classifications, or SCs, in the PSC No. 10 electric tariff: SC 2 for small general service, SC 9 for general large service, and SC 8 and SC 12 for multiple dwellings. Many commercial customers buy supply from an energy service company (ESCO) while Con Edison bills delivery, and Con Edison's own supply charges apply to customers who have not chosen an ESCO. Demand charges are a large share of a Con Edison bill for SC 9 accounts, so demand measurement and the choice between standard and time-of-day rates matter. In dense urban buildings, crossed meters and incorrect meter multipliers on high-tension and current-transformer services are a recurring issue, and tenant moves leave accounts billing to the wrong party. Sales tax and the gross receipts tax surcharges add another layer worth testing on each bill.

Practice notes

In multi-tenant New York buildings, verify the meter number on every bill against a physical survey of the meter room. Con Edison accounts often outlast several tenant changes, and a meter swap during a renovation can leave two accounts crossed for years. A meter survey with photographs is the evidence Con Edison needs to reassign charges and calculate the refund.

Check the delivery level on SC 9 accounts. High-tension service carries lower delivery rates than low-tension service, and a building that takes service at high tension but is billed at low tension overpays on every bill. The service agreement and the metering configuration will show which level applies, and the refund covers the difference for each period.

For ESCO customers, the supply portion is governed by the ESCO contract, not the tariff. We audit Con Edison's delivery charges against the tariff and the ESCO's charges against the contract, and file each claim with the party that issued the charge. Con Edison's consolidated bill shows both on one statement.

Back-billing and refunds

Billing rights for nonresidential customers in New York are set out in the Public Service Commission's rules in Title 16 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, together with Con Edison's tariff. Those rules limit how far a utility can back-bill a customer for undercharges caused by the utility, and they allow the PSC to order refunds when a customer has been overcharged. In practice, overcharge claims for documented meter or rate errors at Con Edison can reach several years back, and claims that are disputed can be escalated to the PSC's complaint process.

Findings we see most often

Crossed meters
Meters in multi-tenant buildings assigned to the wrong space, so one account pays for a neighbor's load.
Meter multiplier errors
High-tension and CT-metered services billed with a multiplier that does not match the installed transformer ratio.
Wrong rate schedule
Accounts left on SC 9 Rate I when Rate II time-of-day pricing is cheaper for the site's load, or the reverse.
Sales tax on exempt usage
Sales tax charged on electricity used in qualifying production or by exempt organizations with certificates on file.

Commercial schedules we check

Schedule	Applies to	What we check
SC 2General Small	Small commercial accounts whose demand stays at or below the SC 2 limit, typically storefronts and small offices.	Check whether demand has crossed the SC 2 limit, which should move the account to SC 9, and confirm the meter number on the bill matches the meter serving the space.
SC 9 Rate IGeneral Large, standard	Commercial and industrial accounts above the SC 2 demand limit, at low-tension or high-tension voltage.	Rebuild billed demand from interval data where available, confirm the low-tension or high-tension delivery level, and check the meter multiplier on CT-rated services.
SC 9 Rate IIGeneral Large, time-of-day	SC 9 accounts billed on time-of-day rates, either mandatory for larger accounts or by election.	Test time-of-day demand and energy periods against interval data and confirm the account is on the cheaper of Rate I and Rate II where the choice is optional.
SC 8Multiple Dwellings, Redistribution	Residential multiple dwellings where the owner purchases electricity and redistributes it to tenants.	Confirm the building qualifies for SC 8 rather than a commercial classification, and test demand and multipliers on the master meter.

Schedule names and eligibility summarized from the utility's published tariff. The utility's current tariff book governs.

Con Edison questions

Yes, where the error is documented. New York's rules and Con Edison's tariff govern the period, and disputed claims can go to the PSC complaint process.

Yes. We compare ESCO charges with your supply contract and file claims with the ESCO.

For suspected crossed meters, yes. We coordinate a meter survey with your building engineer and photograph each meter and its label.

Audit your Con Edison accounts.

Connect bills for up to 50 meters. Get the findings report in about three weeks. Pay nothing unless money comes back.

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from bill access to first findings report: 21 daysfrom bill access to first findings report
of filed claims accepted by the utility in full or in part: 94%of filed claims accepted by the utility in full or in part