Moving In: Set up Electricity & Gas Service with Orange & Rockland Utility in New York State
This article details the process followed to start up new gas and electricity service with Orange & Rockland Utility in New York.
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New Electricity & Gas Service
In order to set up new electricity or gas service with Orange & Rockland Utility (O&R), you must call Orange & Rockland 48 hours in advance before your expected move-in date. This is because the home's electric or gas line may have been shut off, and it may need to be turned back on in time. The process may also happen within 24 hours depending on individual circumstances, but it cannot be expedited.
You can reach O&R Customer Service at 1-877-434-4100, from Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. You can also read more at our Orange & Rockland utility page.
In order to set up your new account with Orange & Rockland you will need to give them your following information:
- Name & Date of Birth
- Social Security or Passport Number
- New Address & Move-In Date
- Phone number
Choosing an alternative Energy Supply Company (ESCO)
Now that the New York electricity and gas markets have been liberalized, New Yorkers are free to choose their own alternative Energy Supply Company (ESCO) for the supply of gas and/or electricity. This is good news for consumers, since ESCOs must compete with your local utility to offer better prices. While millions of New Yorkers have made the switch, a lack of awareness has kept many from changing to an ESCO.
Normal Orange & Rockland Electricity & Gas Charges
Normally, Orange & Rockland Utility is your default provider for your energy delivery and supply charges. Delivery charges include all costs associated with maintaining transmission and delivery infrastructure, as well as with transmitting electricity and gas to your home. Supply charges include the actual cost of energy you consume, as well as all adminstrative and customer service charges, such as meter readings.
Default Energy Bills
If you do not pick an energy rate plan when signing up with Orange & Rockland, you will automatically be put onto a variable rate plan. This means that the cost of energy fluctuates along with market prices. Your electricity price per kilowatt-hour is averaged over the entire month on your Orange & Rockland electricity bill, while your gas bill is averaged based on the price of therm units consumed.
How do ESCOs Work?
Even if you switch to an Energy Supply Company (ESCO), Orange & Rockland will still take care of your delivery charges. This means that this part of the bill will remain the same. ESCOs take care of supply charges, which is where you can shop around and save on your energy bill. Since Orange & Rockland still will take care of your delivery charges, they will be in charge of any service interruption issues, like power outages for example. In all other instances though, the ESCO will be your main point of contact for customer service.
Because of the separated charges, you will receive two bills after switching to an ESCO for your gas or electricity service: One from Orange & Rockland for delivery charges, the other from your ESCO of choice for supply.
Be sure to sign up service first with Orange & Rockland before picking an alternative ESCO for electricity or gas. Your new ESCO will need your Orange & Rockland account information in order to coordinate the change.