A Typical Bill

A typical electric bill for most customers in New Hampshire consists of a Customer Charge, Delivery Charge, Stranded Cost Recovery Charge, System Benefits Charge, Electricity Consumption Tax and an Energy Charge.

The Customer Charge is a fixed charge and is constant regardless of the amount of electricity used. This charge recovers costs associated with providing service to customers, such as installing and maintaining meters, utility poles, power lines and equipment, and meter reading.

The Delivery Charge is a variable charge that is based on the amount of electricity consumed and is in terms of cents per kiloWatt-hour. Some utilities may charge one rate for the first 250 kiloWatt-hours consumed and a second rate for the next 250 kiloWatt-hours consumed. Also, some utilities may charge a different rate based on the time of consumption, i.e. peak or off-peak periods. This charge recovers costs associated with the delivery of electric service to customers, such as maintenance and operation of transmission and distribution systems, and power restoration and service operations.

The Stranded Cost Recovery Charge is a variable charge that is based on kiloWatt-hours consumed in a month. This charge funds the recovery of a utility’s past costs, liabilities, and investments that will not be recovered as a result of the restructuring of the electricity industry in New Hampshire.

The System Benefits Charge is a variable charge that is based on kiloWatt-hours consumed in a month. This charge funds Core Energy Efficiency Programs and Energy Assistance Programs.

The Electricity Consumption Tax is a variable charge that is a state tax on electricity consumption.

The Energy Charge is a variable charge that recovers the cost of power supplied to you (See also transmission and distribution systems).

The graph above shows the monthly bill of a typical residential customer in each of the four franchise areas in New Hampshire, assuming that this typical customer consumes 500 kiloWatt-hours in a month.