Lower Bills in 2012
Good News For National Grid Customers!
Lower electric bills for upstate NY customers coming in the New Year!
The New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC) has approved National Grid's request to remove certain charges from existing upstate electric rates and recover deferred costs. As a result, electric delivery bills will be going down (assuming equal usage) for most residential and commercial customers in upstate New York beginning January 1, 2012.
Approval of lower delivery charges improves affordability and regional competitiveness:
Because the elimination of the CTCs surcharge is greater than the collection of deferred expenses, customers will experience lower delivery bills. The examples below illustrate the positive impact this proposal will have on the average customer bill.
Impact on the total electric bill (delivery charges + supply charges) A typical residential customer using 600 kWh per month will see a decrease on their total electric bill of about 6 percent, small commercial/industrial customers 4 to 14 percent while most large commercial/industrial customers will experience a total bill decrease in the range of 13 to 23 percent
Impact on the delivery portion of the electric bill On the delivery portion of their bill only, residential customers will see an 11 percent decrease. Small commercial/industrial customer will experience decreases of 9 to 21 percent while most large commercial/industrial customers will experience decreases in the range of 39 to 44 percent.
More Opportunities to save on your bill: Explore National Grid's Energy Efficiency and Economic Development Programs Business Customers should contact National Grid at 1-800-787-1706 to explore programs and incentives available to upgrade lighting, energy management systems and many other improvements that can lower your electric or gas bills and improve your customers' experience. You may also be eligible for Economic Development Incentives on www.shovelready.com.
Look for lower bills in 2012 We are changing our electric rates starting January 1, 2012. Business customer billing changes will vary depending on which electric rate you are currently on and your usage pattern. Most business customers will see lower bills if they use the same amount of energy – or less. Business customers with Special Contracts and Lighting Accounts may see their costs increase.
Why are these changes being made? Changes are being made because some electricity costs are ending and some new ones are beginning. The changes are on both the delivery and supply sides of your electricity bill.
What else is changing? We are changing how we collect costs and benefits of outstanding legacy contracts, and revising delivery rates. We are also changing the way we recover our cost of supplying electricity to our residential and small business customers. It ensures that our customers continue paying only what we pay for the electricity supply.
Will my electric rates go up or down? That’s a fair question. Business customer rates are somewhat complex. Our business customers who are currently on standard National Grid rates will see lower energy bills if they use the same amount of energy they’ve been using- or less.
Your electric bill covers the cost to deliver electricity, supply electricity, plus surcharges and other taxes which we are required to add to your bill in accordance with Regulatory Orders.
What are the details of this rate change? Changes to the delivery charge were recently approved on December 15, 2011. The first of these changes will begin on January 1, 2012. These changes are in addition to changes in how we recover electricity supply costs which were approved by the New York State Public Service Commission in July 2011.
Changes effective January 1 2012
Changes effective March 1 2012 For residential and small commercial customers, the Commodity Adjustment Charge will be eliminated on March 1 (currently the CAC is included in the Delivery Adjustment line on bills.)
Changes effective May 1, 2012 For Customers on Mandatory Hourly Pricing, National Grid Supply Rates will change to include a KW as well as Kwh component effective May 1. Currently, customers on mandatory hourly pricing are charged per Kwh for their supply costs.
Are there other advantages to these rate changes? It will be easier for our customers to compare National Grid’s electricity Supply Rates to offers from other market based suppliers or ESCos since all supply related costs will be shown in the electricity supply section of the bill. Previously, there were certain parts of the supply cost in the Delivery Adjustment line of the bill.
Good News For National Grid Customers!
Lower electric bills for upstate NY customers coming in the New Year!
The New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC) has approved National Grid's request to remove certain charges from existing upstate electric rates and recover deferred costs. As a result, electric delivery bills will be going down (assuming equal usage) for most residential and commercial customers in upstate New York beginning January 1, 2012.
Approval of lower delivery charges improves affordability and regional competitiveness:
Eliminates $573 million in Competitive Transitions Charges (CTC) from customer bills. The CTC was a surcharge allowed by the NYPSC in 2001 to collect expenses related to the company's transition to competitive deregulated supply markets.
Recovers about $236 million of outstanding deferral account balances over a 15-month period, beginning January 1, 2012 to minimize the impact on customer bills.
Allows National Grid to pursue additional investments to improve system reliability - more information to come in April 2012 on these plans.
Because the elimination of the CTCs surcharge is greater than the collection of deferred expenses, customers will experience lower delivery bills. The examples below illustrate the positive impact this proposal will have on the average customer bill.
| Customer Type | Delivery Bill | Total Bill |
| Residential | ↓ 11% | ↓ 6% |
| Small commercial/industrial | ↓ 9 to 21% | ↓ 4 to 14% |
| Large commercial/industrial | ↓ 39 to 44% | ↓ 13 to 23% |
Impact on the total electric bill (delivery charges + supply charges) A typical residential customer using 600 kWh per month will see a decrease on their total electric bill of about 6 percent, small commercial/industrial customers 4 to 14 percent while most large commercial/industrial customers will experience a total bill decrease in the range of 13 to 23 percent
Impact on the delivery portion of the electric bill On the delivery portion of their bill only, residential customers will see an 11 percent decrease. Small commercial/industrial customer will experience decreases of 9 to 21 percent while most large commercial/industrial customers will experience decreases in the range of 39 to 44 percent.
More Opportunities to save on your bill: Explore National Grid's Energy Efficiency and Economic Development Programs Business Customers should contact National Grid at 1-800-787-1706 to explore programs and incentives available to upgrade lighting, energy management systems and many other improvements that can lower your electric or gas bills and improve your customers' experience. You may also be eligible for Economic Development Incentives on www.shovelready.com.
Look for lower bills in 2012 We are changing our electric rates starting January 1, 2012. Business customer billing changes will vary depending on which electric rate you are currently on and your usage pattern. Most business customers will see lower bills if they use the same amount of energy – or less. Business customers with Special Contracts and Lighting Accounts may see their costs increase.
Why are these changes being made? Changes are being made because some electricity costs are ending and some new ones are beginning. The changes are on both the delivery and supply sides of your electricity bill.
What else is changing? We are changing how we collect costs and benefits of outstanding legacy contracts, and revising delivery rates. We are also changing the way we recover our cost of supplying electricity to our residential and small business customers. It ensures that our customers continue paying only what we pay for the electricity supply.
Will my electric rates go up or down? That’s a fair question. Business customer rates are somewhat complex. Our business customers who are currently on standard National Grid rates will see lower energy bills if they use the same amount of energy they’ve been using- or less.
Your electric bill covers the cost to deliver electricity, supply electricity, plus surcharges and other taxes which we are required to add to your bill in accordance with Regulatory Orders.
What are the details of this rate change? Changes to the delivery charge were recently approved on December 15, 2011. The first of these changes will begin on January 1, 2012. These changes are in addition to changes in how we recover electricity supply costs which were approved by the New York State Public Service Commission in July 2011.
Changes effective January 1 2012
- The Competitive Transition Charge (CTC) which applied to all standard National Grid rates (excluding
lighting and Special Contract customers) will end on January 1, 2012. The CTC was established in 2001 to recover
historic costs associated with transitioning to a competitive deregulated electricity supply market.
National Grid customers will save approximately $573 million annually with the end of this transition period.
Small Business Customers may notice a decrease in the Delivery portion of their bill. Medium and Large Business
Customers who are accustomed to seeing the CTC line item on their bill will eventually see this line item disappear.
CTC charges on the January bill are for electricity used before January 1.
- This latest decision of the PSC also allows the recovery of approximately $236 million in past costs through a
temporary charge over the next 15 months. This temporary charge recovers deferred expenses -- extraordinary storm costs,
pensions, tax or regulatory changes, environmental costs and others – which were incurred over the last ten years but
were set aside for later recovery.
Please note that a portion of the deferral account is tied to the company's commitment to spend nearly $1.5 billion on electric transmission and distributions system enhancements in upstate New York over the past five years, a target the company achieved ahead of schedule. - The Delivery Charge Adjustment, currently a part of the “Delivery Adjustment” line item in the Delivery Services
section of the bill, will be moved to the new ESRM (Electric Supply Reconciliation Mechanism) line item that will be
shown in the Supply Services area of the bill. This change will help provide a better picture of Supply Costs for customers
when comparing other supplier offers. Customers who have previously chosen a supplier to provide their electric supply
will not see the ESRM line item on their bill.
- The Market Rate Service option will be removed. Customers who are currently on Market Rate Service - and who want to
continue to receive market-priced service - can do so by choosing an alternative energy supplier, or ESCo. Customers who
do not choose an alternative energy supplier will receive their electricity supply based upon National Grid’s new
electricity supply rates effective January 1, 2012.
Changes effective March 1 2012 For residential and small commercial customers, the Commodity Adjustment Charge will be eliminated on March 1 (currently the CAC is included in the Delivery Adjustment line on bills.)
Changes effective May 1, 2012 For Customers on Mandatory Hourly Pricing, National Grid Supply Rates will change to include a KW as well as Kwh component effective May 1. Currently, customers on mandatory hourly pricing are charged per Kwh for their supply costs.
Are there other advantages to these rate changes? It will be easier for our customers to compare National Grid’s electricity Supply Rates to offers from other market based suppliers or ESCos since all supply related costs will be shown in the electricity supply section of the bill. Previously, there were certain parts of the supply cost in the Delivery Adjustment line of the bill.
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