How to Lower a Con Edison Bill for Your NYC Restaurant
By Meltek Team
Your Con Edison bill charges you for your busiest half hour, not just your total use. Here is how NYC restaurants can cut that peak, use efficiency incentives and earn from demand response.
A big share of a busy NYC restaurant's Con Edison delivery bill can come from the demand charge, which bills your highest half hour of use. To lower your bill, spread kitchen start-ups out before the rush, slow hood fans with demand-controlled ventilation, use Con Edison efficiency incentives for new gear, and look at demand response for event-day earnings.
What makes up a restaurant's Con Edison bill?
Con Edison's Service Classification 9 is its general rate for businesses that need more than 10 kW, and Rate I is its standard rate. These are the base delivery charges on SC 9 Rate I for low-tension service. You pay $34.50 per kW of your highest demand in the months the tariff calls all other months, which are October through May. From June through September the rate is $44.05 per kW. You also pay $0.0154 per kWh for energy delivery and a flat customer charge of $72.00 per month. Other delivery adjustments and supply charges are separate and not covered here. Smaller businesses on Service Classification 2 are billed on energy use, with no demand charge.
How much does a kitchen's peak cost?
Here is the math with Con Edison's SC 9 Rate I delivery charges, outside summer. At $34.50 per kW, say your restaurant's highest demand on the bill is 40 kW. Your demand charge is then $1,380. Now say the same bill shows 15,000 kWh of use. At $0.0154 per kWh, energy delivery comes to $231. In this NYC example, the peak costs far more than the energy delivery.
| Demand charge saved | Example peak cut |
|---|---|
| $172.50 saved on the demand charge | Example: cut your peak by 5 kW |
| $345 saved on the demand charge | Example: cut your peak by 10 kW |
How can a restaurant lower its peak demand?
You save at least $34.50 on a Con Edison SC 9 Rate I bill, outside summer, for each kW you cut from your peak. Other per-kW charges on the bill can add to that. Con Edison bills demand on the average of your two highest back-to-back 15-minute intervals, so your peak is your busiest half hour. Spread the load out. Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory note that peak occupancy is observed around noon and 7 pm in standard restaurant schedules. Before those rushes in NYC, don't start the ovens, fryers, dish machine and air conditioning in the same half hour. Stagger them by 30 minutes or more.
Hoods and fans run long hours in NYC kitchens. PNNL researchers say food service buildings use about 5 to 7 times more energy per square foot than conventional commercial buildings. They describe demand-controlled kitchen ventilation, which changes exhaust fan speed based on cooking activity. Slower fans during quiet periods can cut fan energy use and your Con Edison bill.
Can Con Edison help pay for efficient equipment?
Yes. Which program you use depends on your size. Con Edison's Small Business & Nonprofit program covers up to 70% of the cost of energy efficiency upgrades, including refrigeration. Accounts averaging over 100 kW of peak demand can use the Commercial and Industrial Energy Efficiency and Electrification Program, which offers incentives of up to 50% off the cost of installing energy-efficient equipment. Its incentives fact sheet lists refrigeration items such as evaporator fan controls for walk-in coolers and refrigerated case replacement. Participants in that program in Southeast Queens can also get Neighborhood Program bonus incentives for HVAC and refrigeration upgrades. Our refrigerator electricity guide is written for home units, but it shows how to estimate what a refrigerator costs to run.
Should a restaurant join demand response?
Con Edison pays business customers for cutting load on event days, which fall between May 1 and September 30. Under the reservation option of its Commercial System Relief Program, it pays for each kWh you reduce during an event, plus a monthly payment for each kW you pledge. Con Edison's Smart Usage Rewards page lists the current rates. To enroll directly, one account must agree to cut at least 50 kW. Smaller restaurants can join through an aggregator, which pools accounts to meet that minimum and sets its own payout terms. Meltek's small business program is open to commercial accounts under 100 kW. Read the rules in Rider T of Con Edison's electric tariff before you enroll. For the home programs, see our New York demand response guide.
Where should a NYC restaurant start?
Pull your last Con Edison bill and find your peak demand. Then use our bill savings check to see where your money goes. Our small business page explains how Meltek helps NYC shops and restaurants, and Your ConEdison Bill Explained walks through each line.
What is the demand charge on a Con Edison bill?
It is a charge on your maximum demand in the billing period, measured over your two highest back-to-back 15-minute intervals. On Con Edison's SC 9 Rate I low-tension service, it is $34.50 per kW in the months the tariff calls all other months, which are October through May, and $44.05 per kW from June through September.
Does Con Edison help pay for new kitchen equipment?
Yes. Con Edison's Small Business & Nonprofit program covers up to 70% of the cost of energy efficiency upgrades, including refrigeration. Accounts averaging over 100 kW of peak demand can use the Commercial and Industrial program, with incentives of up to 50% off the cost of installing energy-efficient equipment.
Why do restaurants use so much electricity?
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory report that food service buildings use about 5 to 7 times more energy per square foot than conventional commercial buildings. Cooking gear, refrigeration and hood exhaust drive it, and in NYC it shows up in your Con Edison bill.
Can a small restaurant join demand response?
Yes, through an aggregator. Enrolling directly with Con Edison takes a pledge of at least 50 kW from one account. An aggregator pools smaller accounts to meet that minimum. Meltek's small business program is open to commercial accounts under 100 kW. Plan what you can switch off on event days.
Sources
- Schedule for Electricity Service, P.S.C. No. 10 (SC 9 Rate I, Leaf 445; Rider T) - Con Edison
- How demand is measured, Electric Vehicle Charging Rates FAQ - Con Edison
- Savings for Small Businesses & Nonprofits - Con Edison
- 2026 Incentives Fact Sheet - Con Edison
- Commercial and Industrial Energy Efficiency and Electrification Program Manual, 2026 - Con Edison
- Smart Usage Rewards - Con Edison
- Food Service Building Asset Rating Methodology and Analysis
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