If your ConEd bill keeps creeping up and you’ve never qualified for traditional bill assistance, the rules just changed in your favor. Con Edison’s Energy Affordability Program (EAP) — historically only available to New Yorkers on HEAP, SNAP, Medicaid, or similar government benefits — now includes an expanded “Enhanced EAP” (EEAP) pathway open to households earning up to 100% of area median income (AMI). For a single person in NYC, that means a household income up to $113,400 a year. For a family of four, it’s up to $162,000.
This is the biggest expansion of utility bill help in NYC in years, and it took effect for current rate tiers on February 1, 2026. In 2025, ConEd delivered $244 million in bill discounts to roughly 530,000 customers through the legacy EAP, and the expanded program is designed to reach hundreds of thousands more. If you’ve been paying your full bill and getting steadily annoyed about it, this is the page to bookmark.
How the Discount Actually Works
EAP discounts aren’t a one-time check. They show up as a recurring monthly credit on your ConEd bill, applied automatically once you’re enrolled. Two pathways exist:
1. Government Assistance Pathway (the original EAP): If you receive HEAP, SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, Federal Public Housing Assistance, Veterans Disability, TANF, Safety Net Assistance, or Lifeline, you qualify. If your agency notifies ConEd automatically (HEAP, TANF, SNA), you’re enrolled without lifting a finger. For Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, and the others, you submit a short application with proof of benefits.
2. Income-Eligible Pathway (the new EEAP): If you don’t receive any of those benefits but your household income is below 100% of AMI, you can apply directly using pay stubs or other proof of income. This is the door that was effectively closed before.
The Actual Income Limits (Effective 2026)
Per Con Edison’s official program page, the 2026 EEAP income brackets are:
- Household of 1: up to $113,400 (Tier 7 ceiling); Tier 5 ends at $68,040; Tier 6 ends at $90,720.
- Household of 2: up to $129,600 (Tier 7); Tier 5 ends at $77,760; Tier 6 ends at $103,680.
- Household of 3: up to $145,800 (Tier 7); Tier 5 ends at $87,480; Tier 6 ends at $116,640.
- Household of 4: up to $162,000 (Tier 7); Tier 5 ends at $97,200; Tier 6 ends at $129,600.
- Household of 5: up to $175,000 (Tier 7); Tier 5 ends at $105,000; Tier 6 ends at $140,000.
- Household of 6: up to $188,000 (Tier 7); Tier 5 ends at $112,800; Tier 6 ends at $150,400.
The lower your tier, the larger your monthly discount. A Tier 5 customer with electric heat receives a $33.47 monthly electric discount and a $135.24 monthly gas heat discount. A Tier 6 customer with gas heat receives $44.50 a month off gas. Tier 7 is a smaller benefit — $1 per service line — but it still entitles you to enrollment and program benefits.
The Government Assistance Pathway Pays More
If you receive HEAP, the tier of your discount depends on the size of your annual HEAP grant. A household with a regular HEAP grant under $435 lands in Tier 1: $33.47 monthly electric discount, $135.24 gas heat discount. Grants between $435 and $496 push you to Tier 2 ($80.58 electric heat, $167.01 gas heat). Grants of $496 or more land in Tier 3 — $126.21 electric heat discount, $189.83 gas heat discount monthly. That’s well over $1,500 a year in combined bill savings for some households.
This is also why applying for HEAP first — if you qualify — is often the right move before going the income-eligible route. HEAP is administered by the NY Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, and applications are processed at otda.ny.gov/programs/heap.
Why This Matters Now
The state Public Service Commission approved ConEd’s 2026 rate plan in January, which translates to roughly a 3.5% electric rate increase and 4.4% gas rate increase in 2026, with further increases of 3.2% / 5.7% in 2027 and 3.1% / 5.6% in 2028 (Con Edison, 2026 Rate Plan). The average NYC household is paying about $6.88 more per month for electricity in 2026 than in 2025, and gas customers are paying about $10.67 more a month. Those increases are smaller than ConEd’s original proposal — the utility was pushed by state regulators and elected officials to scale back from its initial 11.4% / 13.3% ask — but they’re real money for households already squeezed by rent.
The EAP / EEAP discount can fully offset that increase for qualifying households, and then some.
Action Steps
- Check if you’re auto-enrolled. Log in to My Account at coned.com. Under “Bill Settings” or “Assistance Programs,” you’ll see whether an EAP discount is already being applied. If you receive HEAP, TANF, or Safety Net Assistance, you likely are.
- If you receive SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, Lifeline, Veterans Disability, or live in federal public housing and aren’t currently enrolled, download the EAP application in your preferred language from Con Edison and submit by email to EAP@conEd.com, fax (212-844-0110), mail, or at a walk-in center. You’ll need your award letter or a recent benefits notice.
- If you don’t receive any of those benefits but your income is below the AMI thresholds above, apply for the income-eligible EEAP at coned.nyeeap.com. The application is processed by Promise, a third-party vendor. Have one month of recent pay stubs (or Social Security / pension / self-employment records) for every adult in the household.
- Phone application: Call 1-877-400-2501 if you can’t access the online portal.
- Mark your calendar: EEAP enrollment lasts 18 months. ConEd will remind you when recertification is due, but missing the deadline means losing the discount until you reapply.
Two Things to Know Before You Apply
First, customers enrolled through the government assistance pathway are signed up for ConEd’s Budget Billing automatically. Budget Billing smooths your monthly payment by averaging your usage across the year — useful if your winter gas bills are a shock, but if you’d rather pay actual usage each month, you can opt out from My Account under “Bill Settings” without losing your EAP discount. Customers enrolled through the income-eligible EEAP pathway are not auto-enrolled in Budget Billing.
Second, the EAP discount is per household, not per person. If you live with roommates and your name is on the ConEd bill, your household income is what counts. Roommates whose income would push the household above AMI thresholds will disqualify the account. This is worth thinking about before you apply — and worth structuring carefully if a roommate is moving in or out.
If You’re Behind on a Bill Right Now
Apply anyway. ConEd’s financial assistance page covers deferred payment agreements, the EnergyShare emergency grant program (administered through the United Way), and HEAP emergency funding for heating bills in active arrears. Households facing shutoff have additional protections under New York’s Home Energy Fair Practices Act — including a winter shutoff moratorium for elderly, disabled, and households with young children. Call ConEd at 1-800-752-6633 before a shutoff date, not after, to negotiate a payment plan that keeps service on.
The expanded EAP is the rare bit of NYC bureaucracy that got easier in 2026, not harder. Worth twenty minutes of your Saturday.
