Why is my PSEG Long Island bill higher than the electricity I used?

Part of the bill is not charged per kilowatt hour. There is a fixed monthly charge for the connection itself, plus state-ordered program charges collected through the bill. Those are there in a month you barely used anything.

What is the delivery charge on a PSEG Long Island bill?

Delivery is what the utility charges to carry electricity to the house, and a regulator sets it rather than the market. It is usually more than half a residential bill, and it is separate from the supply charge, which is the cost of the power itself.

Will solar zero out my PSEG Long Island bill?

No, and you should be careful with anyone who says it will. Solar offsets the charges billed per kilowatt hour. The fixed monthly connection charge stays as long as the house is connected to the grid. The breakdown above marks which lines move and which do not.

Where do I find PSEG Long Island's own explanation of my bill?

PSEG Long Island publishes it themselves, and that is the version to trust because it comes from whoever prints your statement. The link is on this page. If you want a person to read yours line by line instead, send it over, with no obligation attached.

UTILITY BILLS · PSEG LONG ISLAND

Your PSEG Long Island bill,line by line.

PSEG Long Island operates the system for the Long Island Power Authority, so its delivery charges are set by LIPA rather than by the Public Service Commission, and its power supply charge is adjusted monthly.

Read the charges PSEG Long Island's own sample bill

Long Island and the Rockaways. Nothing on this page is a WC mockup of your bill.

01 //STRAIGHT FROM PSEG LONG ISLAND

Read their version first.

PSEG Long Island publishes its own explanation of the bill. That is the most reliable version there is, because it comes from whoever prints your statement. Everything further down is the part they do not cover: what solar does to each line.

Their bill walkthrough Electric rate information
Their live rates Rates and tariffs

We do not print PSEG Long Island's rate figures here. They change on a schedule and most of the surcharges are marked by the utility itself as varying month to month, so the live page above is the honest place to read them. When we publish a number it carries the date it was read.

02 //WHAT EACH CHARGE IS

And which ones solar cannot touch.

The names on your statement may differ slightly. The categories are the same across every utility, and so is the part that matters before you sign anything.

Delivery

The wires side. Your utility is paid to carry electricity to the house, and the state regulator, not the market, sets what it may charge. On most residential bills this is more than half the total.

Basic service charge

Also called: Customer charge, service charge

A flat monthly amount for being connected at all. It pays for the meter, the billing and the line to the house, and it is the same whether you use 2,000 kilowatt hours or none.
Solar does not touch it
This is the single biggest reason a bill does not reach zero after solar. You are still connected, so you still pay it.
Delivery or distribution charge

Also called: Delivery charge, distribution charge

A per kilowatt hour amount for every unit the house pulls off the grid.
Shrinks with solar
Falls with the kilowatt hours you stop importing. It does not disappear, because most homes still pull from the grid at night.
Bill issuance charge

Also called: Bill delivery charge

A small fixed amount some utilities charge for producing the statement itself.
Solar does not touch it
Fixed per bill. Production does not touch it. Not every utility has one.
Public policy surcharges

Also called: System benefits charge, clean energy standard, EV make-ready, energy storage surcharge, arrears management program

State-ordered programs collected through the bill: efficiency programs, low income assistance, renewable procurement, EV and storage buildout.
Shrinks with solar
Mostly billed per kilowatt hour, so they shrink with usage. They are not solar penalties and they do not go away.
Reconciliation and adjustment mechanisms

Also called: Revenue decoupling, rate adjustment mechanism, earnings adjustment, transmission revenue adjustment, deferral surcharges

True-ups between what the regulator let the utility forecast and what actually happened. They can be a charge one period and a credit the next.
Solar does not touch it
These follow the utility, not your roof. Worth knowing because they are the lines that move on a bill you did not change.

Supply

The electricity itself. This is the part that tracks the market, and in New York you may buy it from the utility or from an ESCO you chose. It is also the part solar actually displaces.

Electric supply charge

Also called: Energy charge, generation charge, market supply charge

The commodity cost of the power, per kilowatt hour. It moves with the market and, in some territories, with your load zone.
Shrinks with solar
The main line solar offsets. Every kilowatt hour the roof makes is one you are not buying here.
Merchant function charge

Also called: Procurement charge

What the utility charges for buying the power on your behalf.
Shrinks with solar
Tied to supply volume, so it falls with it. Customers on an ESCO are generally billed differently here.
Supply reconciliation

Also called: Electricity supply reconciliation mechanism

The true-up between forecast supply cost and actual supply cost.
Shrinks with solar
Moves with supply, so it follows the same direction as the charge above.

Taxes and assessments

Set by your county, your municipality and the state, and calculated off the rest of the bill.

Sales tax

Your local rate applied to the taxable portion of the bill.
Shrinks with solar
Calculated off a smaller bill, so it falls on its own. Nothing about solar changes the rate itself.
State assessment surcharge

Also called: Incremental state assessment

A state charge on utility revenue, passed through to customers.
Shrinks with solar
Falls with the bill it is calculated from.

After solar, one new line

Once the system is on and the meter is changed, your statement starts carrying the other direction too. This is the line people are never shown before they sign.

Net metering or export credit

Also called: VDER, value stack, net metering credit, banked kilowatt hours

What the utility records when the system sends power back. Depending on the state and your rate, it is banked as kilowatt hours or as a dollar credit, and it usually rolls forward.
New after solar
The rate you are credited at is often lower than the rate you are charged at. Ask which one applies to you before you sign anything.

03 //QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK

Why is my PSEG Long Island bill higher than the electricity I used?: Part of the bill is not charged per kilowatt hour. There is a fixed monthly charge for the connection itself, plus state-ordered program charges collected through the bill. Those are there in a month you barely used anything.
What is the delivery charge on a PSEG Long Island bill?: Delivery is what the utility charges to carry electricity to the house, and a regulator sets it rather than the market. It is usually more than half a residential bill, and it is separate from the supply charge, which is the cost of the power itself.
Will solar zero out my PSEG Long Island bill?: No, and you should be careful with anyone who says it will. Solar offsets the charges billed per kilowatt hour. The fixed monthly connection charge stays as long as the house is connected to the grid. The breakdown above marks which lines move and which do not.
Where do I find PSEG Long Island's own explanation of my bill?: PSEG Long Island publishes it themselves, and that is the version to trust because it comes from whoever prints your statement. The link is on this page. If you want a person to read yours line by line instead, send it over, with no obligation attached.

Send the bill. Get the real numbers.

A photo of the statement is enough. You get production for your roof and every payment path your state allows, side by side. If solar does not beat what you are paying PSEG Long Island now, that is what we tell you.

Get my numbers All utilities