The supply cost is reflective of the cost of the natural resources associated with generating electricity. This charge will fluctuate throughout the year. You may notice a spike in your electric bills during a very cold winter due to a scarcity of natural gas. Or there may be a spike in the summer due to increased demand for electricity. Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of control over this cost, which actually comprises about 40% of your monthly electric bill.

The delivery cost is a bit more puzzling, because there is no physical delivery of power to your home. The electricity flows over our network of power lines. Conceptually, this seems to be a one-time, fixed expense in the infrastructure. The problem New York City faces is our outdated infrastructure, which requires millions of dollars every year to maintain. Not to mention the rising costs of labor. This is why you pay roughly 60% of your monthly electric bills toward delivery, even though ConEdison doesn’t physically come to your house with a box of power.

As high as your electric costs are today, they will only continue to go higher. As per ConEdison’s announcement on January 1, 2016 there was a 7.9% increase in delivery costs for NYC customers. Hikes are inevitable; electric rates historically rise anywhere from 3-6% per year. With solar, you can hedge against rising costs through a fixed, predictable cost of energy. Just another way solar will save you tens of thousands of dollars.