NEW YORK, NY — (Marketwired) — 06/24/13 — Con Edison is making it easier and less costly for customers to convert from heating oil to natural gas in several new areas in Manhattan and the Bronx. The company–s ongoing gas infrastructure expansion program will allow customers to lower their energy bills by switching to safe, reliable and low-cost natural gas.
Customers can call (800) 643-1289 or visit for more information about switching from heating oil to natural gas.
The company is planning to invest approximately $100 million on new mains, regulators and other upgrades in several neighborhoods in Manhattan and the Bronx. The improvements will allow Con Edison to provide more natural gas to residential and business customers for heating.
The neighborhoods in the Bronx comprise parts of: Mount Eden, Laconia & Pelham Gardens, Riverdale, Fordham, Morrisania, Crotona Park, Concourse Village and Soundview. The neighborhoods in Manhattan comprise of: Upper West Side, Midtown South, Inwood, Washington Heights and Upper East Side. Click here to see a map of the neighborhoods:
Con Edison is targeting these neighborhoods based on existing natural gas infrastructure, building density and customer requests. The company plans to further expand its infrastructure over the next seven years throughout its New York City gas service territory in Manhattan, Bronx and parts of Queens.
“Our customers are discovering the economic and environmental benefits of switching from heavy fuel oils to natural gas and we want to do everything we can to make the conversion process easy for them,” said Nick Inga, director of the Gas Conversion Group at Con Edison. “Building owners who make this choice will lower their energy bills and contribute to making New York City cleaner, safer and economically vibrant.”
Natural gas is 40 percent less expensive than oil and burns much cleaner. The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that natural gas will remain significantly less expensive than oil for the foreseeable future.
A New York City environmental regulation phases out the use of No. 6 fuel oil by 2015 and No. 4 fuel oil by 2030. The regulation requires building owners to switch to another heating source, such as natural gas.
Although the regulation does not require the phasing out of No. 2 fuel oil, hundreds of No. 2 oil-heated buildings have switched as well to natural gas due to the economic benefits.
Con Edison is making it easy for customers to switch to natural gas by providing:
One department dedicated to serve customers who choose to convert.
An updated user-friendly website with helpful tools, such as a conversion calculator to estimate savings and answers to frequently asked questions.
New online maps with clear, easy-to-read boundaries.
Easy-to-follow steps that include conversion timelines.
New Yorkers who switch from oil to natural gas will avoid maintenance and equipment costs typically associated with oil heat, such as pumps, motors, filters, and permits. Natural gas is a domestic resource, piped directly to buildings with no need to rely on fuel deliveries. Con Edison–s approach will allow construction activity to be coordinated to minimize disruption and noise to the neighborhoods.
Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED), one of the nation–s largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues and $42 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to more than three million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit us on the Web at , at our green site, , or find us on Facebook at Power of Green.
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