Been in the city a while but this is my first time paying electric on my own in a prewar one-bedroom in East Harlem. Just got my first full Con Ed bill: $210. One person. I keep the heat at 64, no dishwasher, no in-unit washer/dryer, AC's been off, and I still got hit with that. I know Con Ed likes to hurt feelings, but this feels off. The 'delivery' line is almost as much as the supply. Is that normal for an old building with those electric baseboard things, or do I need to start unplugging my toaster? What are you all actually paying right now? Landlord said it's 'normal for winter,' which I don't trust.

First thing: separate yourself from the phrase 'one person.' Con Ed doesn't care how many people live there; the meter sees the load. In a prewar one-bedroom with electric baseboard heat, $210 in a cold billing cycle is on the high side but not absurd, especially if you're on a corner unit, top floor, or have old windows. Electric resistance heat is the same technology as a toaster. It's efficient only in a narrow sense—all the electricity becomes heat—but it's very expensive per BTU compared to gas or a heat pump.

Check your bill for the actual kWh used, not just the total. Look at your daily usage graph on the Con Ed website. If the big spikes line up with nights when the temperature dropped, that's your baseboard. If the spikes happen when you're not home, you have a problem.

Some practical questions:

• Is the meter exclusive to your apartment? Look at the meter number on your bill and match it to the meters in the basement. I've seen old buildings where the hallway outlets or a basement outlet are on a tenant's meter.
• Is the baseboard on a thermostat you can actually control, or is it one of those dials that's always lukewarm? Some old electric baseboards have a stuck relay.
• Are you on the Con Ed budget/level billing plan? It won't lower your annual cost, but it smooths out winter spikes so you're not surprised every January.

You can also ask Con Ed for the previous 12 months' usage at that address. They won't give you a neighbor's info, but they can often tell you the average for the unit. When I moved into my place in Astoria, I found the prior tenant ran a supplemental space heater on high; that apartment's history looked way worse than my actual use.

Wait, delivery is separate? I thought the bill was just 'here's your electric.' I'm in a first-floor prewar in Astoria, first winter here too, and my first bill was only $80, but I haven't really used the baseboards because my super told me they're expensive. I've been using this little plug-in oil radiator thing instead. Is that actually cheaper or am I just getting a nasty surprise next month? Also, how do you check the meter number? Do I just go to the basement and look for a label? This thread is already more useful than the pamphlet they mailed me.

A little plug-in oil radiator is still electric resistance heat!! It just holds heat longer because of the oil, but it's using the same amount of power per degree of warmth. The baseboard on low is not magically worse than a space heater. I went down this rabbit hole last year and bought a clamp meter. You know what I found? My hardwired baseboard in the bedroom had a broken thermostat and was pulling full wattage even when the dial was at minimum. I turned it off at the breaker and my bill dropped almost $40 the next month.

Have you tried turning off every breaker except the fridge and seeing if the meter still spins? You'd be shocked how many prewar buildings have a hallway light or the basement stair light tied into a unit. Also, if you're in East Harlem, ask Con Ed for a home energy audit—not sure if the free one is still available, but they'll send someone with a thermal camera or you can rent one from the library. That is, if the library still lends them!

@ForestHillsFan I definitely haven't tried the breaker trick yet, but now I'm about to go down there with my phone flashlight. @astoria_arch Appreciate the detailed list—I checked the daily graph and it spikes at like 5 a.m. when I'm asleep, which I don't love. My heat dial is one of those old baseboard knobs with no numbers, just a red line. Might have the super check the relay. @firstwinter The oil radiator is basically the same cost, like ForestHillsFan said. I used to think those were cheaper too.

Careful with the breaker test: do not switch off the main if you're not sure which breaker is which, and don't touch the meter itself. But yes, if you can safely turn off everything in your panel, the little horizontal wheel or digital pulse on the meter should basically stop. If it's still moving fast, something outside your apartment is on your circuit.

@firstwinter: The oil-filled radiator is not 'cheaper' in terms of electricity. It's still a 1500W resistance heater. The advantage is it releases heat more slowly, so the room doesn't swing as much. If that allows you to keep the baseboard off or at a lower setting, you may save. If you're running both, you're paying more. There's no free heat in an electric apartment—every dollar of warmth shows up as kWh.

@EastHarlem_E: A 5 a.m. spike is a red flag. In a prewar building, the boiler circulator, hall lights, or a roof exhaust fan sometimes get tied to a tenant meter because it was easier when the wiring was updated. Write down the meter reading at night, turn off your own breakers if you can, and check again in the morning. If the meter moved with your panel off, call Con Ed and ask for a meter investigation. They won't always admit a wiring fault, but they can send someone to check if the meter is feeding only your unit. Also, don't touch any junction box or open panels—just read the meter.

For your specific bill: $210 in a cold month with electric baseboard in an old place is not automatically a mistake, especially if the apartment was vacant before and the previous tenant had heat at 75. But the delivery charge is real. Con Ed rates have been climbing, and delivery is often more than supply. The only permanent fix is to get off electric resistance heat, which you can't do as a renter. The best smaller fix is to close off rooms, use a small fan to push warm air around, and make sure you're not heating the fire escape.

Okay, so I went and looked at my meter after reading this. My meter number on the Con Ed app didn't match the one labeled for my apartment—turns out I was reading the wrong one in the basement. Not saying I'm paying the neighbor's bill, but the super is going to double-check. Also, I turned off my baseboard breaker and I'm only running the oil radiator in the living room during the day. Just got my new bill and it was $74. Could be a fluke because it hasn't been that cold, but I'll take it. Thanks @astoria_arch and @ForestHillsFan for the breaker and meter advice!