removing extra gas and electric meters
What is the process/rules to get extra meters taken out and all gas and electric run through one meter? We have a 3 family with a common and three apartment meters, and want to put everything on one bill and stop paying per-meter charges. Do I need the gas/electric co’s to do the work, or…
What is the process/rules to get extra meters taken out and all gas and electric run through one meter? We have a 3 family with a common and three apartment meters, and want to put everything on one bill and stop paying per-meter charges. Do I need the gas/electric co’s to do the work, or can an independent contractor do it? Will the gas/electric co’s leave the meters and just close the extra accounts, and reroute all the power/gas biling through the remaining account? Or do they take the extra meters out? Are there permitting and c. of o. implications?
We own a 3 family which was originally a 4 family. We changed the C of O (much less taxes) and changed the electric from 5 meters (1 was for halls and cellar) and gas meters from 5 to 3 (1 was for the hot water and furnace).It was done about 30 years ago so I’ve really forgotten all the particulars, but we left the meter pans in place and the electrician just routed the halls and cellar, 1st and 2nd floors onto one meter with each apartment on their own meter. Fortunately our home was totally re-wired in 1955 and the gas lines were all new at that time. Good luck…it’s worth the time and “trouble”.
Original poster: There is a $15 basic service charge for each con ed account, so the extra three accounts really add up over the year.
Has anyone ever done this?
Sounds like electric doesn’t matter. What about gas? There is a per account charge and I understand the common meter has a higher rate.
We looked into doing this but concluded it wasn’t worth it. Our house is a 2 family that is now 3 over 1 but the meters are 2 over 2 so our tenant can’t get a separate bill without paying for our kitchen. It was so difficult with Con Ed, that we decided to skip it.
I don’t think this will save you any money as there is no minimum charge for electric accounts (unlike KeySpan Gas).
It also is a problem from a c of o perspective. I believe you need separate meters, though I’m not positive.
Additionally, you will need to get Con Ed to approve of this and get an electrician to do the electrical work to reroute the wiring to the remainin meters.
All in all, I think it is not worth the trouble. If you don’t like paying separate bills, auto debit them all from your checking account so you do not have to write multiple checks.
If this will not materially change your bill, I’d suggest just leaving it as it allows you the flexibility to have different bills for different units if you ever rent them out. You can put them on auto debit from a checking account. It’s not like gas bills, there is not minimum charge as far as I can remember.