Understanding Your Bill

An example of an itemized bill

Whether you choose to buy energy from an ESCO or your existing utility, supply and delivery charges that used to be bundle together will be itemized. You may still pay your utility for delivery, but your energy supply charges will be a separate line item on your bill.

If you choose an ESCO, you may receive two bills--one bill from the ESCO for the energy portion, and one from the utility for the delivery portion.

There are likely to be other billing options available. You might get one bill from the utility that will include the ESCO's charges for supply, or one bill from the ESCO that will include the utility's charges for delivery. Ask your ESCO about your billing options prior to enrollment.

To help you be a more informed consumer, utility bills list specific services and charges.

SAMPLE ENERGY BILL:

This is a simplified example of a bill for electricity.
(Natural gas bills indicate usage in units of Therms rather than kWhs.)

Your actual usage and charges will vary.

This example is based on a monthly usage of 500 kWh of electricity:

Basic Service Charge $9.00

Delivery Charge
500 kWh @ 6.0 cents $30.00

Taxes (e.g. 4%) $1.56

Total Electric Delivery Charge $40.56

Electric Supply
500 kWh @ 8.0 cents $40.00

Taxes (e.g. 3%) $1.20

Total Electric Supply Charge $41.20

Total Electric Charge $81.76

kWh (KILOWATT-HOUR): The standard unit of electricity use measured by your meter. kWh is an abbreviation for kilowatt-hour. A 100-watt bulb used for 10 hours consumes one kWh. Your electricity use determines the total number of kilowatt-hours on your bill.

THERM: A unit of heat content equal to 100,000 British Thermal units (BTU). A BTU represents the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. The number of therms is used to determine the gas charges on your bill.

TERMS:
Basic Service (or Customer Charge):
This charge covers basic customer-related costs for meter reading, billing, equipment and maintenance. Regardless of how much energy is used during the billing period, this charge remains the same.

Delivery Charge:
This is the charge for bringing electricity form your chosen supplier to your home or office.

Taxes:
This portion of your bill encompasses both the state Gross Income Tax and a Gross Earnings Tax. Many municipalities charge other taxes. The appropriate amounts for these taxes are applied to all rates and charges and vary by locality.

Electric Supply:
This is the charge for the electricity used during the billing period. This is the amount for which you can shop and many vary depending on which supplier you choose.

*System Benefits Charge (SBC:
Your bill includes the SBC which is approximately 70 cents in this example. This amount reflects cost associated with public policy programs, including research and development, low income and energy efficiency programs. This charge does not apply to gas bills.