NYSEG Service Classifications at a glance
The SC defines which tariff column applies to your meter. The wrong SC quietly costs $100+/year.
| SC | Who it applies to | Typical charge structure |
|---|---|---|
| SC-1 | Standard residential (no electric space heating). | Customer charge + flat delivery per kWh + supply PTC. |
| SC-1H | Residential with permanently-installed electric space heating (heat pump, baseboards, electric furnace). | Lower delivery per kWh than SC-1 in the high-usage winter months, designed to make electric heating economically viable. |
| SC-2 | Small commercial / small non-residential (below a demand threshold, no large machinery). | Higher customer charge than SC-1, flat delivery per kWh, supply PTC for small commercial. |
| SC-3 | Larger commercial / industrial with a demand meter. | Customer charge + demand charge ($/kW of peak) + energy charge ($/kWh) + supply. |
| SC-6 / SC-7 | Streetlighting and large primary-service customers. | Specialised tariffs; rarely relevant to residential readers. |
For the full active tariff (PSC No. 120 for electric, PSC No. 88 for gas) see the NY DPS document management system.
What is on a NYSEG bill?
Five buckets. Knowing which bucket each charge sits in tells you which lever can move it.
1. Customer charge
Fixed monthly fee per meter
Pays NYSEG for keeping you connected. Independent of usage. Cannot be shopped away by switching ESCO.
2. Delivery (per kWh)
The wires-and-poles charge
Pays for the local NYSEG distribution grid, tree trimming, meter reading. Higher in NYSEG than in dense urban NY because of geography. Not shoppable.
3. Supply (per kWh)
The kWh price
Either NYSEG default supply (Price-to-Compare) or your ESCO's contracted price. This is the only line you can shop.
4. Riders and surcharges
PSC-approved pass-throughs
Renewable Portfolio Standard, System Benefits Charge, Revenue Decoupling Mechanism. Small individually, meaningful in aggregate.
5. Taxes
NY state and local
Sales tax (varies by jurisdiction) and the Gross Receipts Tax, applied to the total of the above. Local jurisdictions can also layer additional municipal taxes.
How the 2024 Avangrid joint rate case shaped what you pay through 2026
In October 2023, NYSEG and its sibling utility RG&E filed a joint electric and gas rate case (PSC Cases 22-E-0317 and 22-G-0318 for NYSEG; separate dockets for RG&E). After hearings the PSC approved a multi-year settlement that staged delivery rate increases through 2024, 2025 and 2026. Filing the case jointly was a deliberate move by Avangrid: it concentrated the regulatory work into a single proceeding, which simplified the company's case while leaving the two utilities legally distinct.
For NYSEG customers the practical consequence is a stair-step, not a one-time hike: Year 1 hit May 2024, Year 2 hit May 2025, Year 3 hit May 2026. Each step funds storm hardening (after a string of late-2010s upstate storms), vegetation management (tree-trim crews against the cornfield-and-Catskill-ridge geography), gas-pipe replacement, and the continued AMI smart-meter rollout. If you are benchmarking your 2026 NYSEG bill against your 2024 bill, expect a step-up that has nothing to do with weather or supply markets and everything to do with the rate-case schedule.
Could you save by re-classifying?
The biggest single mistake on a NYSEG account is sitting in the wrong SC. Two common cases:
Case 1: you installed an electric heat pump and stayed on SC-1
SC-1 is the wrong tariff once electric space heating is your primary heating source. SC-1H usually applies. The reduction in winter delivery charges typically more than offsets a slightly higher customer charge. Call NYSEG to request reclassification; the change takes effect on the next billing cycle.
Case 2: you run a small home-based business on SC-1
Some home-based businesses end up paying more on SC-1 than on SC-2 because of the way SC-1 customer charges interact with usage. For most freelancers, SC-1 remains cheaper; for a small workshop with welders, freezers or HVAC dedicated to the business, SC-2 may be lower. Compare on the same months of usage.
See the dedicated Service Classification page for the full SC-by-SC breakdown.
Common NYSEG riders and surcharges
Each rider is small. Together they typically add 6 to 10% to your bill.
- RPS / CES surcharge
- Funds New York's Renewable Portfolio Standard and the broader Clean Energy Standard. Cents per kWh.
- System Benefits Charge (SBC)
- Funds NYSERDA's energy-efficiency programmes, low-income outreach and R&D. Cents per kWh.
- Revenue Decoupling Mechanism (RDM)
- Adjusts NYSEG's revenue up or down so the utility neither gains nor loses from changes in customer usage. Small monthly true-up.
- Merchant Function Charge (MFC)
- Recovers NYSEG's costs of administering default supply (billing, credit, auctions). Visible only on customers taking NYSEG default supply.
- Gross Receipts Tax (GRT)
- A NY state tax on utility revenue, passed through on the bill.
Frequently asked questions about NYSEG rates
The supply Price-to-Compare changes with each new auction tranche (every 2 months). Delivery rates change only as part of a PSC-approved rate case; the current schedule was set by PSC cases 22-E-0317 and 22-G-0318 with steps in May 2024, May 2025 and May 2026.
Different tariffs. NYSEG and RG&E are separately regulated utilities under the same Avangrid parent. They filed the 2024 rate case jointly but each has its own tariff schedule. An ESCO can quote different per-kWh prices in NYSEG vs RG&E territory because of utility-specific true-up charges.
No. The delivery rate is set by the PSC tariff for your SC and is the same for every customer in that SC. The lever you have is to (a) sit in the right SC and (b) reduce kWh usage.
On NYSEG's tariff page at nyseg.com or via the New York DPS document and matter management system (search PSC No. 120 for electric, PSC No. 88 for gas).
Optional residential Time-of-Use (SC-12) is available for customers with smart meters who want to shift load to off-peak hours. The on-peak cents per kWh is higher than SC-1; the off-peak is lower. Net savings depend heavily on load shape (electric vehicle charging is the classic candidate).
It recovers NYSEG's administrative costs of running default supply (billing, credit screening, supply procurement). It only shows up on customers who take NYSEG default supply; if you switch to an ESCO, the MFC disappears (the ESCO absorbs equivalent costs into its own price).
More U.S. states with energy choice
Same playbook, different utility. Pick another deregulated state to compare utilities, suppliers and switching rules.
