Con Edison: Customer Central

Customer Central
customer news - March/April 2010
(Click here for PDF format)

Manhattan Walk-In Center Moves

This spring, our customer service walk-in center at 32 West 125th Street is moving to 122 East 124th Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues.

For the fastest and most convenient way to do business with us, visit conEd.com where you can:

pay your bill
review account information
get energy-saving tips
enter a meter reading, and much more

If you don’t have Internet access at home, visit your local library! Public libraries allow free use of computers where you can access conEd.com.

Wherever You Are, We’re at Your Fingertips

Conserve and Save Con Edison’s Web site conEd.com is now easier to use by cell phone or Blackberry! Millions of New Yorkers use their mobile devices as portable offices, handling business, making transactions, and managing bills all while getting coffee or waiting in line.

You’ll be able to pay your bill, see your payment history, submit a meter reading, learn what to do in a gas or electric emergency, report service problems, or update your account information.

With PowerYourWay, You Get to Choose

Conserve and Save Looking for a good deal on energy? Con Edison’s PowerYourWay program can help you find one.

Use PowerYourWay to compare the offerings from energy service companies (ESCOs). A number of ESCOs provide green power, including wind and solar energy.

When you buy energy from an ESCO, Con Edison will still deliver your electricity and gas and bill you, and respond if there is a service problem.

For more information, go to poweryourway.com, or call 1-800-780-2884.

Green Your Computer

Conserve and Save Computers are such a part of our lives it’s hard to imagine going a day without using one. Try these simple tips to help you save energy:

Turn off the monitor when not in use. Screen savers use electricity.
Set your computer to hibernate when not in use for 30 minutes.
When you know you won’t be using the computer for several hours, turn it off.
Keep your printer off until you’re ready to print.

For more energy-saving ideas, visit conEd.com/thepowerofgreen. Watch our employees share their own green tips at conEd.com/videos.

Green Your Bills, Simplify Your Life!

Save time, paper, and postage by switching to one of our electronic billing and payment programs. They are easy, convenient, and secure.

Go paperless with e*bill, which lets you both view and pay your bill online! For every customer who enrolls in e*bill, we donate $1 to a nonprofit tree-planting fund.
With Direct Payment Plan your payment is automatically deducted from your bank account.
Pay your bill at conEd.com using your bank account, or credit or debit card.
Pay by phone using your bank account, or credit or debit card.

Visit conEd.com/customercentral.

Understand Your Energy Costs

A number of factors can make your electric bill fluctuate. One of them is the market supply charge, which is the price the companies that produce electricity charge Con Edison for the energy we deliver to you.

As of February 1, 2010, the New York State Public Service Commission requires that the market supply charge be calculated using New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) day-ahead prices during the same month as your bill. What does this mean to you? Your bills more accurately reflect the price of electricity supply shown on your bill. Before February 1, the market price was estimated for the month and reconciled the following month.

Visit conEd.com to learn how the market supply price of electricity affects your total energy bill. Simply log on to My Account and select “market supply charge” from the menu on the left.

Businesses Can Get Paid to Save Electricity

With our new energy-efficiency program for commercial and industrial customers, we pay you to temporarily cut back on power during the hottest days. Reducing electricity use when demand is greatest helps improve air quality and maintain reliable service.

Participating commercial and industrial customers agree, when asked, to cut electricity use by at least 50 kilowatts. We will call one day in advance to ask you to be ready to reduce electricity. We make these calls an average of three to five times a summer. In return, a participating customer has the potential to earn $1,500 to $4,500 a summer. Similar offerings for homeowners and smaller businesses will be coming soon.

Businesses can also receive rebates and incentives of up to 70 percent of the cost of installing energy-efficient electric and gas equipment, such as motors, lighting, boilers, and furnaces.

To learn more or enroll, call 1-877-870-6118 or visit conEd.com/energyefficiency.

7 Things You Need to Know About Gas Safety

We operate more than 4,000 of miles of natural-gas pipelines. It’s our job to know everything about them, but we ask you and your family to keep these safety rules in mind:

Gas leaks can create fires and explosions – know how to recognize a gas leak by any one of these signs:
Smell – an unpleasant, rotten-egg odor
Sight – a white cloud, mist, fog, or bubbles in standing water
Sound – roaring, hissing, or whistling
If you suspect a leak, leave the premises immediately and take everyone with you. If you are outside, move far away from where you think there might be a leak.
Don’t do anything to create a spark, such as use a phone, light a match, and/or turn on or off lights, flashlights, or appliances. Any sparks might cause the gas to explode.
Find a phone away from the area and call 1-800-75-CONED. National Grid customers call 1-718-643-4050.
The greatest risk to pipelines is accidental damage during excavation. Before you dig, the law requires you to call 811 two to 10 days in advance so we can mark approximately where the lines are at no charge to you.
To prevent combustible gases from entering a building through sewer lines, make sure that indoor sewer line caps are intact and secured.
Markers with the name and phone number of the pipeline operator are sometimes used to show where a pipeline is located.

Con Edison continuously monitors and inspects our gas system. For information about our Integrity Management Plan, visit conEd.com/gassafety. For information on pipelines, visit the National Pipeline Mapping System at www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov.

Steam Safety

If you see steam on Manhattan streets, immediately call us at 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). Steam is caused by water falling on a steam pipe, a manhole cover, or a steam leak, and we need to check it out.

You and Your Meter Reader

You and Your Meter Reader Spring is coming, but while winter still lingers, snowy and icy walkways and stairs can keep us from getting to and from your meter. Please remove snow and ice as well as objects that block the path to your meter – whether your meter is outside or inside – so we don’t have to send you an estimated bill. We rely on you to help keep us safe, and at the same time you’re also protecting your family and friends.

Thanks,

Kids Help Protect the Environment
The Rainforest Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices, and consumer behavior. With support from Con Edison, the alliance helps students of all ages understand the role that each one of us plays in conserving biodiversity. Visit rainforest-alliance.org/education.

Explore Black Culture and History
We support the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The center collects, preserves, and provides access to materials documenting black life, and promotes the study of the history and culture of people of African descent. The center is located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard, in Harlem. Call 1-212-491-2200, or visit nypl.org/locations/schomburg.

Have Fun Helping Tigers
Sign up for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Run for the Wild and help save tigers! Con Edison sponsors the 5-kilometer course, which is set for Saturday, April 24, at the Bronx Zoo and is open to both walkers and runners. All pledges and donations will support WCS’s work to protect tigers. Visit wcsrunforthewild.org.

Helping Cheer Sick Kids
We are helping the Starlight Children’s Foundation bring mobile entertainment units to hospitals, so even children who can’t get out of bed can still play. Young patients can use these “fun centers” to distract them from being ill. To learn more, visit www.starlight-newyork.org.

Celebrate Randall’s Island Wetland
Randall’s Island Sports Foundation (RISF) is preserving the natural environment at Randall’s Island Park. RISF recently restored the park’s Little Hell’s Gate Inlet as a freshwater wetland and fully functional salt marsh. With Con Edison’s support, RISF helps local families learn about wetlands. Visit risf.org.

Hear First About Emergencies

Find out right away when there are emergencies affecting your community – sign up for Notify NYC, New York City’s official source for information on emergency events and city services. You’ll receive free, real-time information about emergencies throughout New York City by e-mail, text message, recorded phone call, RSS, or Twitter. Visit nyc.gov/notifynyc, or call 311.

Be Part of the 2010 Census

Help ensure a brighter tomorrow for our region – be part of the 2010 census. The data collected helps determine congressional representation and how more than $400 billion in federal funds will be distributed to states and communities. The questionnaires will be mailed in March, and completed forms are due April 1. To learn more, visit 2010census.gov.

Go Green, Get Cash

We have a new program for apartments, condos, and co-ops, in buildings with five to 50 units. For building owners, we perform free surveys to evaluate individual units and common areas for lighting, heating, and cooling upgrades. Owners and renters can receive incentives to replace or upgrade heating and cooling equipment, lighting, refrigerators, and window air conditioners. To learn more, call 1-877-870-6118 or visit conEd.com/energyefficiency.

Power Problems? Tell Us!

If you lose electricity, or have partial, dim, or flickering lights, let us know right away. Call 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633) or log on to conEd.com and click “Report an electric service problem.” When using the Web, have your account number or the telephone number on your account handy.

In 2009, we installed about 2,500 miles of electrical cable – more than enough to extend from New York City to Las Vegas.

If just one in 10 homes used ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances, the change would be like planting 1.7 million new acres of trees.

Turn your printer off at night – it draws power even when not in use.

You can choose green power today for a greener tomorrow. Call the New York State Public Service Commission at 1-866-GRN-POWR.

Make bill paying easy. Use e*bill, Pay-by-Internet, or our Direct Payment Plan. Visit conEd.com/customercentral.