Switching from gas heat to an electric heat pump is supposed to help save money and the environment.
But consumers in New York who take advantage of government programs to subsidize heat pump installation end up getting hit with much higher bills. The sticker shock only furthers the idea that the shift to clean energy comes at an affordability cost.
What many heat-pump-using New Yorkers apparently don’t know is that they can enroll in the Steady Use Rate — which can reduce winter heating bills by an average of roughly $500 a year.
Con Edison customers have installed more than 40,000 heat pumps across the state. As of December, only about 500 households — barely 1 percent — have enrolled in the pricing plan that has been offered for more than two years. That means consumers are leaving millions of dollars in untapped savings on the table each year.
