Basic Service Charge 
Includes a portion of the cost of the meter, meter reading, billing and part of the cost for delivery service. It will appear on your bill whether or not you use any energy during the billing period.

Bill Issuance Charge 
Formerly included in the basic service charge, the cost to produce and send you a bill and process your payment. Customers who use an energy supplier (also known as an energy services company or ESCO) other than NYSEG will not be assessed this charge if their ESCO’s supply charges appear on their NYSEG bill. Bill issuance charges appear in the electricity and/or natural gas section of the bill.

Energy Services Company (ESCO) (Energy Supplier) 
A person or corporation, generator, broker, marketer, aggravator or any other entity that sells electricity or gas to customers, using the transmission or distribution facilities of the utility (NYSEG). Suppliers are not regulated by the Public Service Commission.

Delivery Charge 
The delivery charge is what you pay NYSEG to transport electricity to you over our power lines. Costs associated with maintaining the safety and reliability of the electric system are included.

Fixed Price 
A price that remains the same, usually for a set period of time.

Kilowatt-hour (kwh)  
The measure of the quantity of electricity you use. A kwh equals 1,000 watt-hours. One kwh equals the energy needed to operate a 100-watt light bulb for 10 hours.

Load Profile (Historical Usage Data)
Information on a customer’s energy usage over a period of time, sometimes shown in a graph format and typically reflects the last 13 months of recorded data.

Merchant Function Charge (MFC) 
This is a fixed per kwh charge that reflects NYSEG’s administrative costs for obtaining electricity supply and applies to those customers on the NYSEG Fixed Price Option or the NYSEG Default Supply Option.

New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) 
The function of the NYISO is to coordinate the physical supply of electricity throughout New York State and maintain reliability of the bulk power system.

Point of Delivery ID (PoD ID)
Your Point of Delivery (PoD ID) is your “energy address” within NYSEG’s delivery system – it’s an essential number to provide to a supplier other than NYSEG. Your PoD ID can be found on page three of your NYSEG bill, above the meter reading table. Or click on “Your Account,” “Online Services” and “My Account,” provide your Login Id and password, select “Energy Use” and the PoD ID will be displayed.

New York State Public Service Commission (PSC)
The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) is a state regulatory agency that provides oversight, policy guidance and direction to public utilities.

Rate 
An amount agreed upon between the utility and Public Service Commission (PSC) by which the utility bills customers for an approved period of time. Rates differ from one service classification to another.

Service Classification (SC) 
NYSEG's pricing for retail service is established by tariffs that are filed and approved by the Public Service Commission (PSC). The tariff establishes a range of service classifications (SC) based on customer size and other circumstances.

Supply Charge
The supply charge is what you pay for the electricity purchased on your behalf in the wholesale market by NYSEG or an energy services company (ESCO, also known as a supplier).

Transition Charge 
The transition charge is the difference between the market price of electricity and the price of NYSEG’s long-term electricity supply contracts (may be positive or negative). The transition charge is a fixed price and is the same for any option you select.

Variable Price
A price that fluctuates depending on the wholesale price of electricity.