How a Central Hudson residential bill is built
Every electric bill splits into two halves: delivery (moving energy on Central Hudson wires) and supply (the kWh themselves). Each half has rates set by Central Hudson plus state-mandated surcharges. The retail-choice rule in New York is that you can shop the supply half (through an ESCO) but never the delivery half.
Delivery half
- Basic service charge (fixed $ per month, regardless of usage)
- Delivery rate per kWh (variable with usage)
- Merchant function administrative charge
- Revenue decoupling mechanism credit or surcharge
- State surcharges: Temporary State Assessment, SBC, RPS, Clean Energy Standard
- Delivery taxes
Supply half
- Market price charge per kWh (Central Hudson default supply, reset monthly from PSC-approved auction)
- Market price adjustment (credit or surcharge for prior-month forecast error)
- Merchant function supply charge
- Supply taxes
- Replaced entirely by your ESCO supply rate if you have one
For exact rate figures, see your latest Central Hudson bill or the tariff schedule on cenhud.com. State surcharge components are also broken out on the dedicated New York state surcharges page.
SC-1: the residential service classification
Most Central Hudson residential customers default to SC-1. That covers single-family homes, condo and apartment units, churches and not-for-profit veterans' offices, and small mixed-use properties where residential use is the larger share. SC-1 is single-phase service; if you have a large home that requires three-phase service, you may be reassigned to SC-2 (general service).
Inside SC-1, Central Hudson runs sub-rate codes (E100, E110, E120, E149, E150, E180, E190, E191, etc.) to track which appliances you have at the address (electric water heater, electric space heating, three-phase). The sub-rate code does not change the price you pay; it is a population-tracking tool that helps Central Hudson forecast demand. The codes that do change your effective price are:
- •E190 / E191: residential EAP low-income discounted rate. Enrolment via HEAP or SNAP eligibility.
- •SC-6 (voluntary residential time-of-use): same eligibility as SC-1 but the delivery rate varies by time of day and year. Useful for households with shiftable load (EV charging overnight, large heat-pump load). Sub-rate codes E600, E610, E680.
- •SC-1 with net metering: residential solar producers can sell excess generation back to Central Hudson at the value-of-distributed-energy-resources (VDER) rate.
For the full classification ladder, see Central Hudson service classifications.
Why the 2024-25 rate case matters for your delivery bill
Central Hudson's delivery rate (the part of your bill you cannot shop) is set in a multi-year rate case at the NY PSC. The current multi-year rate plan resulted from filings made in 2023-24, with the new rates phased in beginning July 2024 and rolling through July 2026. That filing covered grid hardening, smart-meter deployment completion, vegetation management (a major reliability driver in the wooded Hudson Valley), and the post-2022 customer-service investments the PSC required after the SAP billing-system crisis.
The practical effect for a typical SC-1 household: the basic service charge and the delivery rate per kWh both stepped up over the multi-year plan, partially offset by efficiency credits and the revenue decoupling mechanism. The single biggest line item driving the increase was reliability and storm-hardening spending, which the PSC approved after the 2018 and 2020 storm seasons exposed gaps in the Mid-Hudson Valley distribution network.
Three things follow from the rate-case mechanics:
- ✓Delivery is sticky, supply is not. Your delivery rate is locked until the next rate case. Your supply rate can move 20 to 40 percent across a single year because it tracks NYISO Zone G clearing prices.
- ✓Compare ESCO offers to the supply rate only. A 10 percent supply discount from an ESCO is closer to a 5 percent total bill saving, because delivery (the other half) does not change.
- ✓The Zone G position matters. Central Hudson supply prices clear structurally above upstate (NYISO Zones A-E) and below New York City (Zone J) and Long Island (Zone K). That makes the Mid-Hudson Valley a pricing sweet spot, but it also means ESCO offers vary wildly depending on which zone the supplier sourced from.
The current New York State residential average is 28.55 ¢/kWh (EIA Electric Power Monthly, March 2026 YTD). Central Hudson territory typically clears in the 25 to 26 ¢/kWh all-in range, against a US national average of 17.91 ¢/kWh. Verify both figures against your latest bill.
Delivery rates explained
Delivery is the cost of moving energy on Central Hudson's wires and pipes. Five line items typically appear in the delivery section of a Central Hudson bill:
- •Basic service charge: a flat monthly amount that does not depend on usage. Covers the fixed cost of meter reading, billing and customer service. Reset in each rate case.
- •Delivery rate per kWh: the volumetric charge for moving electrons over Central Hudson's poles and wires. The largest delivery line.
- •Merchant function administrative charge: the administrative cost of running the default-supply procurement, allocated to delivery. If you are on an ESCO, this charge still appears.
- •Revenue decoupling mechanism (RDM): a true-up that prevents Central Hudson from over- or under-collecting against its PSC-approved delivery revenue target. Can be a credit or a surcharge.
- •Purchased power adjustment: usually a credit to customers, this reflects long-term power purchase agreements Central Hudson is locked into.
Supply rates explained
Supply is the cost of the electrons themselves. If you are on default Central Hudson supply, three line items appear:
- •Market price charge per kWh: Central Hudson's blended cost of buying wholesale electricity on the NYISO Zone G market in the prior month. Reset each month, so the per-kWh price you see changes from one bill to the next.
- •Market price adjustment: a true-up against the forecast Central Hudson published in advance. Can be a credit (if the actual wholesale price came in below forecast) or a charge.
- •Merchant function supply charge: a small per-kWh fee that covers Central Hudson's procurement-team overhead. Disappears if you switch to an ESCO.
If you switch to an ESCO, all three supply lines are replaced by the ESCO's own per-kWh rate. The delivery half of your bill does not change. That is why a 10 percent supply discount is closer to a 5 percent total bill saving for the average customer.
Compare ESCO offers at New York suppliers before signing.
State surcharges (tariffs)
The PSC adds a set of state-mandated tariffs on top of Central Hudson's own rates. The same surcharges appear on every NY utility bill (Con Edison, NYSEG, O&R, National Grid, RG&E, PSEG Long Island), at modestly different rates:
- •Temporary State Assessment Surcharge (TSAS): also called the New York State Assessment, this funds the PSC and the Department of Public Service under Section 18-a of the Public Service Law.
- •System Benefits Charge (SBC): funds energy-efficiency programmes, low-income assistance and research.
- •Renewable Portfolio Standard / Clean Energy Standard (CES): funds the New York 70 percent renewable by 2030 target and the 100 percent zero-emission by 2040 mandate.
- •Gross Revenue Tax / Tariff Surcharge: a tax on Central Hudson's revenue, passed through to customers.
- •Transition adjustment: a small charge tied to the historical transition from vertically-integrated utility to wires-only delivery.
- •Sales tax: New York State sales tax on the delivery and supply portions.
For the exact dollar value of each surcharge in the current period, refer to the breakdown on your bill or the dedicated New York state surcharges page.
How Central Hudson sits against other NY utilities
Central Hudson's all-in residential price clears between upstate and downstate NY. Order of magnitude (May 2026), against the New York State residential average of 28.55 ¢/kWh (EIA):
| Utility | NYISO zone | Position vs NY state average |
|---|---|---|
| National Grid (upstate) | A-E | Below average |
| NYSEG | B, C, E, F | Below average |
| RG&E | B | Below average |
| Central Hudson | G | Slightly below average |
| Orange & Rockland | G, H | Around average |
| PSEG Long Island | K | Above average |
| Con Edison | J | Well above average |
Position is approximate and based on EIA state-level data plus NYISO zonal clearing patterns. Exact ranking varies month to month with the supply auction.
Common rates and tariffs questions.
Most residential customers default to SC-1 (single-phase residential) with a sub-rate code (E100, E110, E120, etc.) that reflects which appliances are at the address. The sub-rate code does not change the price you pay. If you have a large home with three-phase service, you may be on SC-2 (general service). For voluntary time-of-use, you can move to SC-6.
Central Hudson default supply is reset each month through a PSC-approved auction that procures wholesale electricity from the NYISO Zone G market. The per-kWh price moves with wholesale clearing prices and can vary 20 to 40 percent across a single year. The price for the coming month is published in advance, with a market price adjustment trued up after the fact.
Delivery rates are set in formal rate cases at the NY PSC, typically as multi-year plans. The most recent multi-year plan phased new rates from July 2024 through July 2026, covering grid hardening, smart-meter completion and customer-service investments required after the 2022-23 SAP billing crisis. Delivery rates do not change between rate cases (apart from the revenue decoupling mechanism true-up).
No. State surcharges are mandated by the NY PSC and apply on every utility bill in New York. Switching to an ESCO does not eliminate them; ESCOs only replace the supply half. The dedicated state surcharges page lists each rider.
Central Hudson sits in NYISO Zone G, the Hudson Valley clearing zone, which runs structurally above upstate but below New York City. The typical all-in residential price runs roughly 25 to 26 ¢/kWh, against a New York state average of 28.55 ¢/kWh (EIA, March 2026). Cheaper than Con Ed and PSEG Long Island, more expensive than NYSEG, RG&E and National Grid upstate.
Maybe, but only after comparing the offer to the current Central Hudson default supply rate printed on your latest bill. Two cautions: (1) the delivery half of your bill does not change, so a 10 percent supply saving is closer to a 5 percent total bill saving; (2) most ESCO traps are 6 to 12 month teaser rates that roll into expensive variable rates if you do not act on renewal. Read the renewal clause before signing.
Time-of-use makes sense if you can shift a meaningful share of usage to off-peak windows: EV charging overnight, heat-pump or pool-pump scheduling, laundry and dishwasher delayed start. For a typical household with usage spread across the day, the on-peak rate can outweigh the off-peak savings. Look at your current bill's usage profile before opting in.
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