Con Ed customers who lost power during Sandy and were expecting to see lower bills won’t get a break this month.
The utility is sending out 1.5 million estimated bills to customers in New York City and Westchester County because it was not able to read meters in the aftermath of the storm. A Con Ed spokesman said meter readers in most areas were reassigned to help in the restoration effort.
The estimates are largely based on usage a year earlier and bills will be adjusted next month.
Gerald Norlander, executive director of the Public Utility Law Project, said the billing should even out.
“People are only supposed to pay for what they use,” he said.
The electricity was out for about 1.1 million Con Ed customers, the majority in New York City, after Hurricane Sandy struck last month. The average Manhattan outage lasted five days, while those outside the borough and in the suburbs were without electricity for an average of 10 days.
Con Edison applied to the state Public Service Commission last week to give a $3 credit to Manhattan customers and $6 to those outside the borough. The credit is for the fixed part of the bill and will be on top of any adjustments made for usage.