Illustrative Case: Nine-Site NY MSO Procures Supply Across Con Ed and Upstate Utilities

The facility and starting situation

Assume a privately held MSO with nine metered accounts across three investor-owned utilities [ny-dps-esco-info]. Three retail dispensaries sit in Westchester on Con Edison in NYISO Zone I [coned-rates]. Two indoor cultivation rooms operate in Dutchess County on Central Hudson in Zone G, where capacity prices sit in the elevated G-J locality [cenhud-rate-codes]. Four assets, one processor and three stores, run on National Grid upstate in Zones C and D [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. New York opened electric supply to ESCO competition in the late 1990s; any customer of the six IOUs may buy supply while the utility delivers and bills delivery [ny-dps-esco-info].

At the start of this example every account took utility default supply priced on the NYISO day-ahead market, which changes monthly [ny-dps-esco-info]. The CFO tracked rent and payroll in one ERP system but energy in nine separate utility portals. No one modeled ICAP pass-through. Combined load was roughly 4.1 million kWh a year: 2.6 million kWh at the two Hudson Valley grow rooms, 900,000 kWh at the processor, and 600,000 kWh across five retail stores.

Statewide normals are 6,001 heating degree days and 618 cooling degree days [noaa-cag-new-york]. Downstate stores carry more summer latent load; upstate cultivation spends most of the year rejecting lighting heat into cold outdoor air. Peak demand at the larger grow hit 410 kW on Con Edison SC 9 class service in the model, while upstate stores stayed under National Grid SC-2 Demand thresholds [coned-rates] [ngrid-upstate-service-rates].

What the baseline bills showed

The table summarizes portfolio totals. Assumed usage is input; program rules are cited.

Site group	Utility / zone	Assumed annual kWh	Assumed peak kW	Delivery class (model)
3 dispensaries	Con Ed / Zone I	360,000	45 kW each	SC 2 general
2 cultivation	Central Hudson / Zone G	2,600,000	380 kW	SC 2 measured demand
1 processor	National Grid / Zone C	900,000	210 kW	SC-2 Demand
3 retail upstate	National Grid / Zone D	240,000	32 kW each	SC-2 non-demand
Portfolio total		4,100,000

Modeled default supply averaged 11.4 cents per kWh weighted across zones: higher at Con Ed and Central Hudson, lower upstate [ny-dps-esco-info]. Delivery and demand charges added roughly 9.8 cents per kWh on a blended basis in the model. All-in spend landed near $870,000 a year before taxes. That is above the EIA June 2026 New York commercial average of 23.56 cents per kWh applied to the same kWh, about $966,000, because the portfolio skews toward cultivation load that often bills on industrial schedules [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Capacity (ICAP) was the hidden line. NYISO markets separate energy, installed capacity, and ancillary services [nyiso-markets]. Downstate localities pay materially more for capacity than upstate zones. The operator's Con Ed and Central Hudson bills moved month to month with the utility Market Supply Charge benchmark [ny-dps-esco-info] but nobody tracked the ICAP component inside that swing.

What changed

The operator ran a single portfolio RFP to PSC-eligible ESCOs [ny-dps-esco-info].

Block-and-index with fixed ICAP on downstate load. The winning structure fixed energy at 7.2 cents per kWh on 70 percent of forecast kWh and indexed the remainder to NYISO day-ahead prices. ICAP and transmission were fixed for 24 months on Zone G and Zone I accounts and passed through at cost on the two smallest upstate stores where load was too thin to hedge efficiently [nyiso-markets]. Each account enrolled separately; the supplier aggregated financially in one master agreement.

Per-utility delivery audit. An engineer confirmed the Hudson Valley grow belonged in Central Hudson SC 2 measured demand, not a small-general class that would have mis-stated demand charges [cenhud-rate-codes]. Con Ed SC 9 intervals were checked against the tariff's demand measurement rules [coned-rates]. National Grid SC-2 Demand at $18.93 per kW applied only where monthly demand exceeded the threshold [ngrid-upstate-service-rates].

Mass-market exclusion confirmed. The 2019 PSC Reset Order restricts ESCO products for residential and small non-residential mass-market accounts [ny-psc-reset-order-2019]. Every cannabis account in this example sat on demand-metered or large-general classes, outside that bucket [ny-dps-esco-info]. The operator still had legal counsel review each account classification.

Timing before two new store openings. Contracts signed in March 2026, before summer cooling at the Westchester stores and before energizing a tenth account in Albany on National Grid. The New York switching guide covers enrollment mechanics. The fixed vs. index vs. block-and-index page explains why pure index lost the bid.

The math after

Compare modeled default supply to the portfolio ESCO contract over 4.1 million kWh. Delivery is unchanged.

Component	Before (annual)	After (annual)	Notes
Delivery + demand (all sites)	~$402,000	~$402,000	Stays with each utility
Default supply + ICAP + transmission	~$468,000 at 11.4 cents		Modeled benchmark
ESCO supply + fixed ICAP adder		~$426,000 at 10.4 cents blended	24-month term
Modeled supply-side total	~$468,000	~$426,000
Modeled all-in	~$870,000	~$828,000	~$42,000/year

On a per-kWh basis, 1.0 cent saved on 4.1 million kWh is $41,000. The operator also gained budget certainty on the fixed ICAP slice, which removed the worst month-to-month swings on the three downstate accounts [nyiso-markets].

If the Hudson Valley grow had signed supply before fixing a misclassified demand ratchet, delivery would still have been ~$180,000 a year on that site alone in the model. Supply savings would not have touched that line [coned-rates] [cenhud-rate-codes].

What did not work

One flat price for all nine accounts. The first broker quote blended ICAP across zones. Downstate stores subsidized upstate cultivation in the spread. The operator rejected it.

Chasing the lowest fixed kWh rate. A 36-month fixed at 6.8 cents excluded capacity. Modeled true-up would have added 2.1 cents in Zone I during a hot summer [nyiso-markets].

Centralizing meters. Con Edison, Central Hudson, and National Grid each require a delivery account at the premises. Financial aggregation in the ESCO contract replaced physical merger.

Delaying interval data from the grow. The supplier sized the block on stale kWh forecasts. Year-one true-up moved $18,000 from savings back to the operator because flower expansion added 400,000 kWh mid-contract.

Con Edison versus upstate utilities in one portfolio

New York MSOs may hold meters under Con Edison, NYSEG, National Grid, and Central Hudson simultaneously. Each utility has its own delivery tariff and default service reset. One ESCO master agreement can cover multiple territories if enrollment is processed per meter [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Zone-specific default service in New York

Con Edison, NYSEG, and National Grid publish different default supply prices and reset schedules. An MSO fixed contract spanning multiple zones still needs per-utility delivery analysis. ESCO aggregation helps supply; it does not simplify upstate versus downstate delivery tariffs [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Con Ed demand on flagship retail

Downstate MSO flagship stores may carry demand charges despite small footprint if service was sized for future kitchen load. Rank New York sites by delivery dollars before standardizing ESCO product [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Upstate versus downstate delivery on one ESCO deal

ESCO may price supply uniformly while delivery varies by utility. Portfolio savings model needs per-meter delivery tables, not one blended cents per kWh [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Zone lability on ESCO quotes

ESCO quotes may reference zone-specific capacity tags. Upstate meters carry different delivery and capacity context than Con Ed meters [eia-epm-5-6-a]. Portfolio spreadsheet should include zone, utility, PLC, and contract end date columns.

Con Ed versus upstate delivery tables

Build portfolio models with separate delivery tables for Con Ed, NYSEG, and National Grid meters. ESCO supply price can be uniform while delivery is not [eia-epm-5-6-a].

NYISO zone labels on ESCO invoices

ESCO invoices may reference NYISO zone identifiers that do not match internal store names. Map SAID to zone in the portfolio spreadsheet before reconciling bills [eia-epm-5-6-a].

ESCO renewal owner by zone

Assign one portfolio owner per NYISO zone group so Con Ed renewals do not lapse while upstate renewals proceed [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Lessons that transfer to other New York MSOs

Map every account to utility, NYISO zone, and delivery class before you send an RFP [ny-dps-esco-info]. Specify ICAP and transmission in the contract, especially in Zones G, I, and J [nyiso-markets]. Confirm you are outside the 2019 mass-market product limits if you want ordinary fixed or index structures [ny-psc-reset-order-2019]. Keep delivery and supply separate in the ROI model: ESCOs do not negotiate Con Edison per-kW charges [coned-rates]. Sign before you add sites so pro formas use a known marginal supply number. See the New York multi-site page and the FAQ on supplier choice.