Con Edison will expand its natural gas service for heating in 12 areas in Manhattan and the Bronx in 2014.
If your building is in Manhattan or the Bronx and you're considering switching your heating fuel from oil to natural gas, please note Con Edison has announced 12 new Area Growth Zones where the utility will be expanding its natural gas service.
Buildings in these zones may be eligible to connect to a Con Ed main gas line for heating at low or no additional cost, saving potentially several hundred thousand dollars on the conversion. Con Ed organizes buildings by zone to coordinate the required construction work, reducing disruption and noise in those neighborhoods.
How to Participate
First see if your building is located in one of the Area Growth Zones in Manhattan or the Bronx. If it is, building owners must submit the following to Con Edison:
- A 2014 Area Growth Acknowledgment Letter signed by the customer (or authorized representative) submitted to gasconversions@nullconEd.com with your building's zone indicated in the subject line.
- A gas service request submitted to conEd.com/es with your building's zone indicated in the Scope of Work section.
The deadlines for submitting the documents are August 15, September 20, and October 31, 2013, depending on which zone your building is located in. Con Ed's plans to have gas service operating in these zones beginning in fall 2014.
Preliminary Work
Con Ed strongly recommends starting preliminary work, such as hiring a contractor and conducting chimney inspections, before receiving the ruling from Con Edison. These preliminary steps take time, and if they are not completed by the deadline, your building may lose its eligibility for low/no cost access to Con Ed's gas infrastructure.
In addition, Con Ed recommends owners work with a licensed professional to assess their building's internal conversion costs before submitting a gas service request. If your building needs help preparing a gas service request, please contact RAND at 212-675-8844; info@nullrandpc.com.
Con Edison is planning additional growth areas for 2015. Information on those zones is scheduled for release next summer.
More Information
NYC Clean Heat will be holding a webinar to discuss the 2014 Growth Area Plan tomorrow, June 19 at 12:00 noon. Register at info@nullnyccleanheat.org.
For more information on Con Ed's Area Growth plan or how to convert to natural gas, please review these Frequently Asked Questions or call 800-643-1289 (press 1). The basics of the Area Growth plan are also covered in this video.
Con Ed customers who install eligible high-efficiency equipment may be available for rebates. Visit conEd.com/greenteam to find out more.
