conEdison bill for an empty apartment

The charge monthly base fees -- for electricity, and another one if you have gas through them. Add in the refrigerator, and there you go.

Still, $30 for an NJ summer bill is remarkable, unless it was right at the beach or in lake country.

*They*

Yes, just for the record - My August 2010 PSEG bill was $37.90, 203 kWh used. My conEd bill for Apr, with 108 kWh used, costs me over $40!!!!

And I just live across the river.

Minimum $20 for the fridge alone, prob $25.

I'd imagine your eletric will be $80 to $120 when you move in.....unless of course you remove the fridge.
Expect 2 to 4 times that amount in summer months, depending on the size of your apartment, your A/C(s), and your time spent home.
Can tell you a hot month,with A/C(s) on around the clock in aprox 1000 sq ft will reach a $500 bill.

That does sound odd. Remember, though, that ConEd will charge a monthly 'service fee' even if your fridge is off. That's generally around $18-$20. You might want check to be sure you are not unwittingly supplying an outlet outside your apartment.

Why are there 108kWh used? Are the lights on, and the fridge plugged in even though it's completely empty? You should go and unplug everything.

It's possible you were charged and average for a non meter read that month

We once went away for a month, so I unplugged the refrigerator after emptying and cleaning it thoroughly. When we came back, it was full (and I mean full to the brim and overflowing) with hairy and feathery green mold. That was 1979 and maybe refrigerators have changed since then, but I'll never try it again. There must be a way to do it right, but I'm not sure just unplugging is the answer.

We also had a sizeable Con Ed bill after a month of not being there, with the lights and appliances turned off. I took the bill to Con Ed and they gave me many explanations. The real explanation came a few months later, when we all found out the super was "tapping" quite a few of the tenants' lines. Again, that was long ago and maybe that can't happen anymore.

Unplug and prop open is the right way.

This mock bill for a not-very-green customer of Consolidated Edison shows "Basic Service Charge" of around $15 EACH for electricity and gas:
http://www.coned.com/customercentral/threebill_D19_ResDual.asp

I did go to the apartment minimally during the month, and turned on the oven for 4 hrs for self-cleaning. The fridge is on too. So 108 kWh doesn't seem too much, I think.

However, the point is, why consuming similar amount (110 kWh) in NJ would cost me only 25 but 40 in NYC? Even almost doubling the usage to 200 kWh, the NJ bill is still under 40!! I believe both PSEG and conEd are monopoly in their own state anyways.

Your really asking why being serviced for something in NY is nearly double NJ?

A partial answer is that energy is important to the economy of New Jersey, which is a nice way of saying the industry has all of its legislators in their pocket. Observe, for instance, the 33 cent per gallon difference in gasoline taxes ... especially easy to notice when gas is around $1/gallon, meh at $4.

Nuclear reactor down the shore? APPROVED! Refineries that dump into wetlands? NO PROB!

And btw as I just looked up some bills from 2001, Con Ed was charging .13 cents a kw then.