Trade Fun Facts
Your Con Ed bill is getting a new line. It is not a new tax. It moved, not added.
Not a new tax: the charge moved, not added. Tap any line on this sample bill to see what it pays for.
Fun fact
Fun fact
Property taxes account for approximately 26 percent of Con Edison's electric revenue requirement: the total the state allows it to collect for electric service, not 26 percent of any one bill.
Con Edison estimated it would collect more than $3.2 billion in property taxes from customers in 2026.
Note
The line was moved out of delivery, not added.
Explain it like I'm 5
Explain it like I'm 5
Picture a pizza box with one price on the lid.
Now the lid shows which slice is pizza, which is the delivery fee, and which is tax. The tax charge moved onto its own line. Your Con Edison bill is doing that with property taxes.
Plain English
Plain English
The state ordered it.
The NYS Public Service Commission (PSC) told Con Edison to show municipal property taxes as their own dollar item, with a note naming the jurisdiction (NYC, Westchester or other) and a pointer to a Con Edison web page detailing its property tax payments.
Most of those taxes, Con Edison says, are municipal property taxes on the pipes, wires and equipment that deliver your energy. Con Edison makes no money on them.
Is the property tax line a new tax?
Is the property tax line a new tax?
No. Per Con Edison, these taxes used to be part of the delivery charge.
Now they are listed separately with the other taxes. The line was moved out of delivery, not added. Your total still moves with usage, season and supply prices. When the new line appears, compare Delivery plus the property tax line to your old Delivery charge before assuming a new cost.
When will I see the property tax line on my bill?
When will I see the property tax line on my bill?
Con Edison has not announced an exact date.
The state's order says the line has to appear by January 1, 2027 at the latest.
What do the other lines on my Con Ed bill mean?
What do the other lines on my Con Ed bill mean?
Con Edison sorts every bill into three kinds of charges: supply, delivery and taxes.
Two lines that puzzle people most: the system benefit charge, a state-mandated fee that funds clean energy programs, and the merchant function charge, the cost of buying and selling energy in the wholesale market. Tap any line on the sample bill above for the rest.
Which Con Ed charges can I actually lower?
Which Con Ed charges can I actually lower?
The ones tied to how much you use, when, and from whom.
The basic service charge is a flat monthly fee, so habits do not move it. The property tax line is set by local governments, per Con Edison. Ask Con Edison how it is figured on your account.
Use less, and lines tied to usage follow your kWh. Shift timing, and on time-of-use, electricity costs more at peak times (weekdays) and less off-peak (nights, weekends and certain holidays). Flatten your peak on business accounts. Demand is measured in kW, the rate of use at one moment. kWh is total use over time. Same kWh, very different peaks.
Try
Which Con Ed charges can I actually lower?
Which Con Ed charges can I actually lower?
You can also shop for supply and choose another supplier (an ESCO). Con Edison still delivers. None of these is a promise of savings.
Easy mix-ups
Easy mix-ups
A new line is not a new tax.
The amount moved out of delivery. Compare the two pieces to last month's delivery charge before assuming the city added a fee.
Who this is for
Who this is for
This page is for reading a bill, not for changing service.
This is not a how-to. Hire a licensed professional for any real work.
Pros
For the prosProperty taxes account for approximately 26 percent of Con Edison's electric revenue requirement.
The revenue requirement is the total the state allows Con Edison to collect for electric service. It is not 26 percent of any one bill.
The state order (PSC, Cases 25-E-0072 and 25-G-0073, January 22, 2026) requires Con Edison to show the dollar amount of municipal property taxes as its own item on bills, with a note naming the jurisdiction (NYC, Westchester or other), and to point to a Con Edison web page detailing its property tax payments. Con Edison was to use best efforts to do this in 2026 and must do it no later than January 1, 2027.
The electric summer billing period, June 1 to September 30, costs more. The gas winter period, November 1 to April 30, costs more. Gas is billed in therms. Con Edison estimated it would collect more than $3.2 billion in property taxes from customers in 2026. Con Edison publishes sample bills for residential, small-medium business, and large business customers. Our sample bill is not Con Edison's format and uses no real rates.
FAQ
FAQ
Short answers to the questions people actually type.
Is the property tax line a new tax?
No. Per Con Edison, municipal property taxes used to be part of the delivery charge and are now listed separately with the other taxes.
Does it change my total?
It moves an amount out of delivery rather than adding one, per Con Edison. Your total still depends on usage, season and supply prices.
When will I see it?
Con Edison has not announced an exact date. The state's order says the line has to appear by January 1, 2027 at the latest.
Why does Con Edison pay property taxes?
Because local governments levy property taxes on the pipes, wires and equipment that deliver energy, per Con Edison. Con Edison collects them and sends them on, and makes no money on taxes.
What's a demand charge?
On commercial and industrial accounts, it is based on the highest amount of electricity used at a single moment in the billing period, measured in kW. It is separate from energy charges, and kWh is total use over time.
Sources
Sources
- 1. Con Edison, Learn What Your Energy Bill Powers
- 2. Con Edison, Your Guide to Rates
- 3. Con Edison, Frequently Asked Questions: About Bills
- 4. NYS PSC, Order Adopting Terms of a Joint Proposal and Establishing Electric and Gas Rate Plans, Cases 25-E-0072 and 25-G-0073 (January 22, 2026)
- 5. Con Edison news release, January 31, 2025
Last checked: October 26, 2026.
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For learning only. This is a general guide to reading a Con Edison bill, not billing or tax advice. Check your own bill or ask Con Edison.