How to Lower Your Apartment Electric and Gas Bill This Winter (NY)

Cut your winter energy bill as a New York renter: thermostat habits, drafts, budget billing, bill discounts, HEAP and your shutoff protections.

If you pay your own electric or gas bill, winter is when it jumps. Heating, shorter days and more time indoors all add up, and a bill that felt manageable in October can feel very different in January.

The good news is that renters have more control than they think. Some savings come from small habits at home. Others come from programs and protections New York already offers, which many renters never use. This guide covers both.

The bill programs and protections below are New York State rules and programs. Other states run their own, and amounts, dates and income limits change every year. Check your lease, your utility and local rules before you rely on any of them.

Before you change anything, look at your lease and your last few bills. In many New York apartments, heat is included in the rent and you only pay for electricity. In others, you pay for gas heat, electric heat, or both.

Turning the heat down when you don't need it is the single most effective habit. Maryland's state energy office, citing federal energy guidance, says you can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by turning your thermostat back 7°F to 10°F for 8 hours a day, for example while you sleep or are out.

Space heaters can be expensive to run on an electric bill, and they need care: the FDNY says to keep them three feet from anything that can burn and plug them straight into a wall outlet. Never use an oven or gas stove to heat your home; it can cause dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

Drafts let warm air out and cold air in, and renters can fix many of them without tools or permission:

If a window doesn't close properly or a door has a gap you can see daylight through, report it to your landlord in writing. Repairs to windows and doors are usually the landlord's job. Check your lease and local rules.

Under New York's Home Energy Fair Practices Act (HEFPA), as explained by the state Department of Public Service, residential customers must be offered budget (or "levelized") billing. Budget billing spreads your yearly costs into more even monthly payments, so a cold January doesn't arrive as one huge bill.

Budget billing doesn't lower what you use over the year, but it makes winter much easier to plan for. Call your utility or check your online account to sign up.

New York's Energy Affordability Program (EAP) , set by the Public Service Commission, gives monthly discounts on electric and gas bills to income-eligible households. According to the Department of Public Service:

The Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) is a federally funded program that helps income-eligible homeowners and renters with heating and cooling costs. It has several parts, including a Regular benefit each season and Emergency help for households at risk of losing service or running out of fuel.

New York gives residential utility customers specific protections. According to the Department of Public Service's HEFPA guide:

If you get a final notice, call your utility first to set up a payment agreement. If you can't reach an arrangement, the Department of Public Service runs an emergency hotline at 800-342-3355, and its general helpline is 800-342-3377.

Heat included or not can change your real monthly cost a lot in winter.

What kind of heat does the apartment have?

A building boiler, electric baseboard heat or a heat pump each costs differently to run.

Can I control the temperature in my apartment?

If you pay for heat, you want your own thermostat.

A lower winter bill comes from two places: small habits at home, and the programs you're entitled to. Turn the heat back when you're asleep or away, seal drafts, ask for budget billing, and check whether you qualify for EAP or HEAP. If you fall behind, New York's HEFPA protections give you time and options. Rules and amounts change every year, so check your lease, your utility and local rules. For more help with your first place, see our first-time renter guide .

Snestico's Lease Checker adds up what a lease will really cost at move-in and every month, and lists what to ask about.