Utility program deep dive · New York
Con Edison residential VPP and demand response economics
What Con Edison’s battery, thermostat, EV and rate programs are worth to New York City and Westchester households: scenarios by asset, paybacks, financing and what could change.
VPP Economics has no affiliation with, sponsorship from, or endorsement by any utility, aggregator, platform, or device maker named here.
The short answer
- Con Edison pays ten times what Ameren Illinois does per kW of battery. Its Bring Your Own Battery (BYOB) program pays $100 per kW of average summer performance, about $300 a year for a typical home battery (Con Edison BYOB guidelines). Ameren Illinois pays $10 (VPP Economics).
- The upfront money is large too. NYSERDA (the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) pays $250 per kWh in Con Edison territory, $3,375 on 13.5 kWh, and requires BYOB enrollment. New York City (NYC) homeowners can add a property tax abatement worth 30% of installation cost over four years (NYSERDA, NYC).
- The rate choice matters as much as the program. On the standard rate a battery earns about $300 a year. On the time-of-use or Steady Use demand rate, it earns roughly $700 to $950. That pays back in about 11 years in NYC at average prices and 8 to 9 years at Tesla’s average price.
- Two rules cut into stacking. BYOB measures a battery against its own discharge on recent days, so daily time-of-use cycling shrinks the event payment. Time-of-use customers cannot join SmartCharge New York, which pays EV drivers about $400 a year on average (Con Edison, Con Edison).
What each Con Edison program is
Con Edison’s residential offers mix utility-called events, charging-time incentives and rate designs. Each pays for a different thing:
Bring Your Own Battery
Con Edison calls events from May 1 to September 30, up to four hours between 8 a.m. and midnight. The service provider dispatches the battery. Pay is $100 per kW of average seasonal performance, measured from battery telemetry and paid once after the season. Tesla is the only approved provider so far (Con Edison). It is utility-called DR delivered through a device fleet, not yet a fully orchestrated VPP.
NYSERDA Residential Storage Incentive
$250 per kWh of usable capacity in Con Edison territory, up to 25 kWh, with a higher inclusive rate for eligible households. It is block-based, so rates step down as funds fill, and it requires enrollment in a utility load-management program such as BYOB (NYSERDA, NYSERDA program manual).
Smart Thermostat Program
$85 per thermostat at enrollment, then $25 a year from the third season if the home takes part in at least half of event hours. Events run May to September, usually up to four hours on weekdays between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. Central air conditioning is required (Con Edison).
Smart Usage Rewards (residential)
Partners pay for reductions from May 1 to September 30. The reward type and amount are set by the partner and the energy reduced (Con Edison). It cannot be combined with the thermostat program.
SmartCharge New York
Telematics-verified pay for when an EV charges: 10¢ per kWh from midnight to 8 a.m., $35 for each summer month with no weekday 2–6 p.m. charging, and a $35 season bonus (Con Edison). No one controls the car; the driver chooses.
Residential Time-of-Use Rate
Delivery costs $0.2786 per kWh from 8 a.m. to midnight in summer and $0.1711 the rest of the year, against $0.0522 overnight. Full-service customers also pay a summer weekday 2–6 p.m. super-peak supply price (Con Edison).
Steady Use Rate
Delivery is billed on the average of the home’s three highest hourly peaks each billing cycle, with weekday noon–8 p.m. peaks priced highest (Con Edison).
Net metering and the Value Stack
Solar exports are credited under net metering or the Value Stack. Value Stack customers must permanently give up two of its credits, the demand reduction value (DRV) and the locational system relief value (LSRV), to join BYOB.
What a kilowatt is worth here
Program pay per kW-year compared with reference values
Con Edison residential programs against an Illinois comparison, New York City capacity prices, the Value Stack and a high-paying peer.
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New York City is the most expensive capacity zone in the country. NYISO (the New York Independent System Operator) cleared NYC capacity at a record $32.60 per kW-month in May 2026 and $32.50 in June, more than double the year before (Modo Energy). The price then fell to $12.41 in July, once the Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line could count as in-city supply (REsurety).
BYOB’s $100 per kW sits below those summer capacity values and below the Value Stack’s demand reduction value of $140.76 to $199.40 per kW-year (Con Edison). It is still the highest residential battery rate in New York. NYSERDA’s January 2026 overview cited a $50 price signal, so Con Edison doubled it for the 2026 season (NYSERDA). The rate is reset before each season at Con Edison’s discretion (Con Edison).
Scenarios for one home battery
Annual gross value of one 13.5 kWh battery
By rate and program. The dashed line is the annual value an NYC homeowner needs for a 10-year payback at average prices.
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Standard rate. A flat delivery price leaves little to shift, so the battery earns BYOB pay, about $300 a year. The $3,375 NYSERDA incentive equals about 11 seasons of that.
Time-of-use rate. Delivery costs about 5.3 times as much from 8 a.m. to midnight in summer as overnight. A battery that charges overnight and covers 12 kWh of daytime and evening use saves roughly $650 a year in delivery charges alone, by our estimate, before any supply savings.
The baseline problem. BYOB pays the difference between the battery’s average discharge during an event and its own average discharge on the days before (Con Edison). A battery that already discharges every evening for time-of-use savings has a high baseline. Its event-day increment might be 1 to 3 kW instead of 3, cutting BYOB pay to $120–$300. Combined, the stack is about $770 to $950. Battery scheduling software that holds extra charge for event days captures more of both.
Steady Use demand rate. This rate bills delivery on peak kW, not kWh. RateMate reports $27.35 per kW in summer and $21.04 in winter for on-peak demand (RateMate). Trimming 2 kW off the three highest peak hours is a short, targeted job for a battery. It leaves energy for BYOB events and avoids most of the baseline problem.
Cumulative position of a battery bought for cash
Four cases. NYC cases include the 30% property tax abatement over four years; Westchester has no abatement.
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In NYC, a rate-optimized battery breaks even around year 11 at average prices and between years 8 and 9 at Tesla’s average price. In Westchester, with no abatement, it takes about 15 years. On the standard rate, BYOB alone does not repay the battery within 15 years anywhere in the territory. No federal credit applies to homeowner-owned batteries placed in service after 2025 (Solar Cost Data). New York’s 25% state credit covers solar equipment, not stand-alone batteries (New York Tax Department).
Annual value needed for a 10-year payback
Net cost ÷ 10. The dashed line marks the rate-optimized battery with BYOB.
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Asset classes and combinations
Ten-year gross program value by asset
Published Con Edison and NYSERDA terms over 10 years.
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No battery, still eligible
Most NYC households cannot site a battery, but they can still earn. SmartCharge does not require being a Con Edison customer, only charging in the service area (Con Edison). Thermostat pay needs central air conditioning. Smart Usage Rewards partners pay for summer reductions without new equipment (Con Edison).
≈1 kW · low cost
$85 upfront and $25 a year from year 3, about $285 over 10 years (Con Edison). That is small but nearly free if the thermostat is already installed.
Choose one
SmartCharge pays roughly $400 to $550 a year with no rate risk. Time-of-use saves about 12¢ per kWh on overnight charging but raises the price of daytime and evening use from 8 a.m. to midnight in summer. For most drivers who charge overnight anyway, SmartCharge is the larger and safer number. Time-of-use pays off when a battery or very large overnight loads move most of the home off-peak.
3 kW paid · 4-hour events
Four-hour events mean a 13.5 kWh battery with some reserve averages about 3 kW. More power without more energy does not raise BYOB pay. NYSERDA pays on usable kWh up to 25 kWh (NYSERDA).
6 kW paid · siting limits
BYOB pay doubles to about $600, but NYSERDA stops at 25 kWh. NYC rules limit one- and two-family homes to 40 kWh on an exterior wall or in a detached garage, and never in living or sleeping areas (NYC DOB rule, Legal 500).
Standard rate stack
About $3,375 upfront plus roughly $725 to $875 a year: $300 BYOB, $400–$550 SmartCharge, and $25 for the thermostat. Moving the battery to Steady Use instead of time of use could add $400 to $550 without losing SmartCharge, if Con Edison allows the combination.
Behaviors each program needs
Enroll before May 1
Events before enrollment count as 0 kW in the seasonal average, so a June sign-up dilutes the whole season (Con Edison). Keep enough charge for up to four hours between 8 a.m. and midnight.
Schedule around the baseline
Daily discharge raises the baseline that event performance is measured against. Holding the battery back on likely event days, or using a demand rate, protects BYOB pay.
Stay off 2–6 p.m. summer weekdays
One summer-peak session under 5 kW keeps the $35 month. Two cut it to $17.50. Any session above 5 kW, or three sessions, cancels it (SmartCharge New York).
Commit for a year
Full-service customers stay on the rate for a year, and leaving bars a return for 18 months, as reported by EV Charging Help. Registered EV owners get a one-year bill guarantee (Con Edison).
Join at least half of event hours
The $25 annual payment from year 3 requires taking part in 50% or more of event hours. Overrides count against it.
Plan for NYC permits
Every stationary battery needs a DOB permit, and units must be listed to UL 9540, a national safety standard for battery systems. A pending City Council bill would waive remote monitoring for some small residential systems (NYC DOB, NYC Council).
Financing: buy, borrow or lease
Three ways to pay for one battery
One 13.5 kWh battery in Westchester, rate-optimized and enrolled in Bring Your Own Battery. Money in and out of the household, then cumulative cash over 10 years.
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Lowest cost in NYC
The NYC abatement cuts net cost to about $8,600. It requires property taxes at least as large as the annual abatement, so it suits owners rather than tenants.
Rate choice decides it
At 8% over 10 years, payments are about $1,790 a year. A rate-optimized battery covers roughly half of that; backup value has to cover the rest.
BYOB pay can go to the provider
Con Edison lets leased, financed or third-party-owned batteries direct BYOB pay to the service provider (Con Edison). A third-party owner can claim the commercial §48E credit that homeowners no longer get (Solar Cost Data).
Not offered here yet
No company-owned, hosted home battery offer like Base Power’s Texas and Illinois model was found in Con Edison territory. NYC siting limits and permitting make such a model harder to scale than in suburban markets.
What ifs
One season’s price, not a contract
The $100 rate is set each season at Con Edison’s discretion. At $50 per kW, the 2026 price signal before launch, a standard-rate battery earns $150 a year.
The incentive steps down
The first Con Edison residential block held $6.25 million; about $5.51 million was unreserved on October 22, 2026, as reported by Roof Energy. Later blocks are likely lower.
Beyond Tesla
Only Tesla is approved for BYOB today. More approved manufacturers would widen equipment choice and price competition.
NYC prices swing
NYC capacity went from a record $32.60 per kW-month in May to $12.41 in July 2026. A future program indexed to capacity would carry that volatility; BYOB’s fixed rate does not.
A path to NYISO markets
Aggregated home batteries could someday earn NYC capacity value directly. At summer 2026 spot prices, 3 kW would be worth roughly $375 for May–October before aggregator costs.
Easier permits
If the pending City Council bill passes, small garage and outdoor residential systems could skip remote-monitoring requirements, lowering soft costs (NYC Council).
Commercial and industrial customers: see the Con Edison C&I deep dive for the CSRP and DLRP relief programs, Term- and Auto-DLM contracts, demand charges and the Value Stack.
Method and caveats
An independent analysis for homeowners, renters, program managers, aggregators and other readers. Program terms come from Con Edison, NYSERDA and New York City sources linked above, checked October 25, 2026.
Illustrative assumptions: 13.5 kWh battery with 3 kW BYOB seasonal performance; U.S. average installed cost of $1,159 per kWh and Tesla’s $967 (EnergySage); 12 kWh a day of time-of-use shifting at about 89% round-trip efficiency on delivery rates only; a 1–3 kW BYOB increment when combined with daily cycling; 2 kW of Steady Use peak reduction; SmartCharge at Con Edison’s $400 average up to 3,500 off-peak kWh; NYC abatement applied to cost after the NYSERDA incentive.
All figures are gross payments or bill effects, not net profit. They exclude backup value, maintenance, degradation, supply-price effects and taxes on incentives. Combination rules (for example, Steady Use with SmartCharge, or BYOB with Smart Usage Rewards) should be confirmed with Con Edison.
VPP Economics has no affiliation with, sponsorship from, or endorsement by Con Edison, NYSERDA, Tesla, ev.energy or any other company named here.