Is There a Con Edison Solar Rebate?

This is one of the most searched solar questions in New York City and Westchester, and the answer is a clean no with an important caveat: Con Edison does not pay a rebate for installing solar. The money people are looking for was real, and it came from somewhere else — though for a home it is not on offer right now.

Where the money actually came from

NYSERDA, through the NY-Sun programme, when a block is open. The incentive is paid to your contractor, not to you, and appears as a reduction in the price you are quoted rather than as a cheque or a tax filing. The amount depended on system size and region, and it stepped down as each capacity block filled — the megawatt-block structure was designed to phase the incentive out as the market matured. In Con Edison territory the last standard residential block closed on 29 May 2025 and the Affordable Solar block on 15 October 2025. As of September 2026 NYSERDA has no open NY-Sun block for homes in any utility territory; check NYSERDA’s NY-Sun dashboard for a new one.

This is why the confusion is so persistent. While blocks were open, the homeowner saw a discount on the quote, knew an incentive existed, and reasonably assumed their utility provided it. The utility had nothing to do with it.

What Con Edison does provide

Not a rebate, but two things that carry real value:

Net metering. Every kilowatt-hour you export is credited at the full retail rate, and a system interconnected today holds that arrangement for 20 years. In Con Edison’s high-rate territory this is worth considerably more than in cheaper parts of the state — it is the reason NYC and Westchester solar economics are strong.

Interconnection. The application, the review, the meter exchange and permission to operate. Not an incentive, but the process without which none of the rest happens.

And what Con Edison charges

Worth stating alongside, because it is the line nobody mentions: the Customer Benefit Contribution, a monthly charge on the DC size of your system for anyone who interconnected on or after 1 January 2022. Con Edison’s 2026 residential rate is $1.29 per kW-month — about $124 a year on an 8 kW system. It is billed on capacity regardless of production and is recalculated annually.

The full list of what a Con Edison customer can actually get in 2026

• New York State tax credit — 25% of qualified expenditure capped at $5,000, on Form IT-255, for your principal residence. Non-refundable but carried forward five years, and it reaches leases and PPAs of ten years or more as well as purchases.
• State sales tax exemption on residential solar equipment.
• Property tax treatment. In New York City, an abatement filed with the Department of Buildings and taken in four annual instalments. In Westchester, RPTL 487’s 15-year exemption on the added value, where the municipality has not opted out — check the town or city, the county and the school district, each of which decides for its own levy. The RPTL 487 exemption is not automatic: file form RP-487 with your assessor by the taxable status date (March 1 in most towns; January 2 in Nassau towns; May 1 or June 1 in Westchester towns; set by charter in cities; usually January 1 in villages), and the system must be built before January 1, 2030 (RP-487 instructions).

Not on the list: NY-Sun, including its Affordable Solar incentive for households with income under 80% of the area or state median income (whichever is higher), because as of September 2026 NYSERDA has no open NY-Sun block for homes. And the one that is gone: the 30% federal residential credit. Section 25D was terminated for expenditures made after 31 December 2025, with an expenditure treated as made when the original installation is completed. If a Con Edison-area quote still shows a 30% federal line, it is overstating your net cost by thousands of dollars.

How to read the incentive line on a quote

Ask for the price broken into three separate numbers:

1. The gross installed price, before anything is deducted.
2. The NY-Sun incentive, stated as its own line with the capacity block it is quoted against — $0 while NYSERDA has no residential block open, so ask which open block any amount there is reserved against.
3. The net price you pay.

Then, separately from the price, the tax credit you will claim later on your own return — because that money arrives when you file, not at installation, and any payment schedule that assumes otherwise should say so explicitly.

A quote that presents a single net figure with the incentives folded in is a quote you cannot compare against another one. Ask for the three numbers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Con Edison offer a solar rebate?

No. Con Edison provides net metering and the interconnection process. The incentive people are looking for came from NYSERDA through NY-Sun, paid to the contractor as a reduction in the quoted price. As of September 2026 NYSERDA has no open NY-Sun block for homes in any utility territory; check NYSERDA's NY-Sun dashboard for a new one.

How is the NY-Sun incentive paid?

Through the contractor, as a price reduction, while a block is open. The amount depends on system size and region and steps down as each capacity block fills. As of September 2026 NYSERDA has no open NY-Sun block for homes in any utility territory, so if a quote shows a NY-Sun amount, ask which open block it is reserved against.

What can a Con Edison customer claim for solar in 2026?

New York's 25% state credit capped at $5,000 on Form IT-255, the state sales tax exemption, and the NYC property tax abatement or RPTL 487 in Westchester. NY-Sun, including NYSERDA's Affordable Solar incentive, has no open block for homes as of September 2026, and the 30% federal credit ended after 2025.

How should a solar quote present the incentives?

As three separate numbers: the gross installed price, the NY-Sun incentive on its own line with the capacity block named ($0 while no residential block is open), and the net price you pay. A single net figure with everything folded in cannot be compared against another quote.

This article is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Incentive amounts, eligibility rules and deadlines change and depend on your utility, your tax situation and your property. Confirm current terms with NYSERDA, your utility and a qualified tax professional before making a decision.