May 27, 2026 · 5 min read

Con Edison Off-Peak Hours: When Electricity Is Cheapest (2026 Schedule)

Con Edison Off-Peak Hours Schedule

⚡ Check the live off-peak status for your home →Con Edison off-peak hours run from 12:00 AM to 8:00 AM on weekdays, plus all day Saturday and Sunday. During off-peak hours, electricity on TOU Rate III costs approximately $0.05 per kWh. Peak hours run from 8:00 AM to 12:00 AM (midnight) on weekdays, when rates jump to approximately $0.38 per kWh. That is a 7.6x price difference between the cheapest and most expensive hours on the same grid. Holidays follow the weekend schedule (off-peak all day).

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What Are Peak Hours for Con Edison?

Peak hours are 8:00 AM to 12:00 AM (midnight), Monday through Friday. These 16 hours per weekday carry the highest electricity rates because grid demand is at its highest. Air conditioning, cooking, laundry, EV charging, and general household activity all concentrate in this window. Most Westchester homeowners use 70 to 80 percent of their daily electricity during peak hours without realizing it. On a standard flat rate (EL1), this does not matter because you pay the same price all day. On TOU Rate III, it matters a lot.

What Are Off-Peak Hours for Con Edison?

Off-peak hours are 12:00 AM to 8:00 AM Monday through Friday, plus all day Saturday and Sunday. These are the cheapest hours to run high-draw appliances like dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, and EV chargers. Off-peak electricity on TOU Rate III costs roughly $0.05 per kWh compared to $0.38 per kWh during peak. That means running your dryer at 11 PM instead of 6 PM costs about 87 percent less for the same load of laundry.

How Much Can You Save With Off-Peak Rates?

The savings depend on how much usage you can shift. A Westchester homeowner on TOU Rate III who shifts 30 percent of their peak usage to off-peak hours can save $600 to $900 per year on electricity alone. With a battery storage system, you can automate this entirely. The battery charges during off-peak hours at $0.05 per kWh and discharges during peak hours, replacing electricity that would otherwise cost $0.38 per kWh. That spread of $0.33 per kWh is pure savings on every kWh the battery cycles. A single 16 kWh battery cycling daily can save $1,500 to $2,000 per year.

Who Qualifies for Off-Peak Rates?

Any Con Edison residential customer in Westchester County can request a switch to TOU Rate III. There is no approval process and no equipment requirement. You call Con Edison or submit the request through your online account. The switch typically takes one billing cycle. However, switching without changing your usage pattern can actually increase your bill. If most of your electricity use falls during peak hours (8 AM to midnight), you will pay more on TOU Rate III than on the flat EL1 rate. That is why pairing the rate switch with battery storage or deliberate load shifting is critical. For a personalized analysis of whether TOU Rate III saves or costs you money, upload your Con Edison bill for a free breakdown.

Off-Peak Hours for NYSEG Customers

NYSEG serves northern Westchester towns including Yorktown, Cortlandt, Peekskill, and parts of Putnam County. NYSEG also offers time-of-use rates, but the schedule, rate spread, and economics differ from Con Edison. NYSEG TOU rates typically have a narrower peak/off-peak spread, which means the arbitrage opportunity is smaller. If you are on NYSEG, the same principle applies: shift usage to off-peak hours to save. But the dollar impact per kWh shifted is lower than Con Edison territory.

Why Are Con Edison Rates So Much Higher During Peak Hours?

Peak pricing reflects the actual cost of generating and delivering electricity when demand is highest. During summer afternoons, Con Edison has to fire up the most expensive power plants (natural gas peakers) and push the transmission grid to its limits. Those costs get passed through to customers on time-of-use rates. Con Edison rates have been climbing steadily, and the peak/off-peak spread has widened from $0.18 in 2014 when TOU Rate III launched to $0.33 today. As grid infrastructure costs increase and demand grows from EV adoption and AI data center construction, that spread is expected to widen further.

The Best Way to Use Off-Peak Hours in 2026

The most effective strategy is battery storage paired with TOU Rate III. The battery automates the arbitrage: charge at $0.05 per kWh overnight, discharge at $0.38 per kWh during the day. No behavior change required. No remembering to run the dishwasher at midnight. The system handles it automatically. With NYSERDA offering battery rebates of $250 per kWh and the TOU spread at historic highs, 2026 is the strongest the battery economics have ever been in Westchester County. Upload your bill for a free analysis showing your exact savings with off-peak optimization.

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