In Con Edison's service area, savvy electric consumers can reduce their supply costs by proactively managing their ICAP score (lower the better)***, which is used to calculate some of the the capacity costs incurred by their electric supplier (ESCO). The ICAP score is based on an account's electricity usage during the hour with the highest electric use across New York during that year's Peak Hour, typically occurring during the hot summer months. Consumers can lower their ICAP tag, saving them money, by reducing their electricity consumption during that hour (Peak Hour).
Zone One Energy provides a free service, offering notifications to alert consumers when the Peak Hour is likely to occur, enabling them to plan and reduce their electricity usage during that specific hour. By using this service and reducing their ICAP tag, consumers can secure lower supply rates from their ESCO.
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***Here’s how it works:
- When an electric supplier (ESCO) provides electricity to your account, one of the things that they must purchase on your behalf is called capacity.
- The amount of capacity that they must buy in the energy markets is determined by what is called an ICAP score. The ICAP score is measured in KWs, and each month, the ESCO needs to buy that many KWs in the capacity market. So, for example, if your account has an ICAP score of 3 KWs, and the capacity in June costs $15, then the ESCO’s capacity cost to service your account is $45 (3 KWS x $15).
- The lower your ICAP tag, the lower the ESCO’s capacity costs will be to service your account. This will then allow the ESCO to offer you a lower supply rate.
So the question becomes, can you lower your ICAP tag, and if so, how?
The good news is that you can lower your ICAP tag, and this could result in significant savings. To do this, the first thing that you need to understand is how Con Edison assigns each account an ICAP tag:
1) It is important to understand that every account has a different ICAP tag, which is calculated by Con Ed every year.
2) The methodology is as follows:
a. Con Edison looks to see how much electricity you were using during what is called the Peak Hour for a particular year. The Peak Hour is the hour that had the most electric usage across all of New York State. Typically this will occur during the hot summer months when air conditioning usage is the highest.
b. Con Edison takes that usage and plugs it into a formula that results in the ICAP score that will take effect the following year, starting on May 1st and remaining effective until the following April 30th.
c. So for example, the Peak Hour in 2023 was on July 28th at 6pm. As such, your usage during that hour will determine your ICAP score for the following year. If you are a homeowner, and you happened to be out for dinner at that time, then your empty house likely was not using much electricity, and you will benefit from having a very low ICAP score the following year. If you were throwing a dinner party, with your air conditioner blasting during that hour, your ICAP score will likely be very high.
So therein lies the secret. If you know when that Peak Hour is going to be, you plan in advance to try and avoid using electricity during that hour as much as possible. If you are successful, you will see much lower supply rates the following year (note that this only applies if you are buying your supply from an ESCO, as Con Ed does not charge based on your ICAP tag).
But how do you know when that Peak Hour is going to occur? That is where Zone One Energy comes in. We provide a free service that provides notifications that alert you to when the Peak Hour is likely to occur. This is based on weather forecasts as well as advisories provided by the New York State grid operator. Zone One will provide alerts to you via email and/or SMS the day before the Peak Hour is predicted to occur.