​Delivery Charges

Customer Charge: A monthly fixed charge that recovers the cost of meter reading, equipment, maintenance, and customer services. The Customer Charge does not change when your electric use increases or decreases.

Demand Charge (business customers only): The cost of providing distribution service to accommodate your largest electrical load.

Distributed Solar Charge: A charge that recovers the costs associated with the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target Program. The goal of this state-wide program is to create a long-term sustainable solar incentive program that promotes cost-effective solar development in the Commonwealth.

Distribution Charge: This charge recovers the cost of delivering electricity through Unitil's distribution system to your premises. These charges are the operating and maintenance costs and the investment made in the Company's distribution system. For billing purposes, the Pension/PBOP Adjustment Factor, Energy Efficiency Reconciliation Factor, Net Metering Recovery Surcharge, Revenue Decoupling Adjustment Factor, Attorney General Consultant Expense Factor, Long-Term Renewable Contract Adjustment, Residential Assistance Adjustment Factor, Capital Cost Adjustment Factor, Solar Cost Adjustment Factor and the 2017 Tax Act Credit Factor are also included in the Distribution Charge.

Transition Charge: This charge recovers "deregulation" costs including stranded investments in generating plants and power contracts. The Basic Service Adjustment is also included in the Transition Charge.

Transmission Charge: This charge recovers the cost of transmitting bulk power over high voltage power lines from the generation source to Unitil's distribution system. The Transmission Charge is the sum of the Company's Internal Transmission Charge, Internal Transmission Service Cost Adjustment and External Transmission Charge.

Energy Efficiency Charge: A state-mandated charge that provides funds to Unitil to provide energy efficiency programs for all customers.

Renewable Resource Charge: A state-mandated charge that provides funds to the State for research and development of environmentally-clean power sources such as solar, wind, biomass and hydro.

​Supplier Service

Basic Service/Generation Charge: This charge recovers the cost of power purchased by Unitil for your use including related administrative costs and bad debt. This charge includes the Basic Service Costs Adder. All Unitil customers have the option to purchase electricity supply from competitive suppliers. If you do not choose another supplier, you will continue to receive your electricity supply from Unitil's Basic Service. Basic Service has two price options: a fixed price option and a monthly variable price.

Energy Charge: The electricity supply charge established by your competitive spuplier or municipality.

More Electric Service Definitions

Attorney General Consultant Expense Factor: This charge recovers expenses associated with consultants or experts retained by the Attorney General to assist with cases before the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities Commission.

Basic Service Adjustment:  This rate component is used to credit or charge any over or under recovery of Basic Service costs on an annual basis.  The rate is added to the Transition Charge for billing and applies to all customers.

Basic Service Costs Adder:  This charge includes the cost of working capital associated with supply costs, bad debt costs (uncollected costs associated with electric supply) and administrative costs associated with power procurement and regulatory compliance.

Discount Rate Adjustment:  A revenue discount provided to low income residential customers under rate schedule RD-2.

Energy Efficiency Reconciliation Factor: This charge recovers additional funds to support expanded energy efficiency initiatives.

External Transmission Charge:  The charge recovers the cost of delivering electricity from the generation company across the inter-state high voltage transmission system to the utility’s local system.  

10% Farm Credit: Customers who qualify as persons or corporations engaged in the business of agriculture or farming, as defined pursuant to section 1A of Chapter 128 of the General Laws, shall receive a credit of ten percent from the otherwise applicable rates.  The credit shall be based on full delivery service rates plus the Basic Service rate, if applicable.  The credit will be recalculated as required to maintain the ten percent discount from these rates as in effect from time to time.

Internal Transmission Charge:  This charge recovers operating and maintenance costs and investment in the Company’s local transmission system (e.g. poles, wires). 

Internal Transmission Service Cost Adjustment:  This rate component is used to adjust on an annual basis internal transmission costs and to reconcile prior year costs and revenues.

kWh (Energy):  The electricity you use is measured in units called kilowatt-hours (kWh).  One kWh equals the amount of electricity needed to light a 100-watt bulb for 10 hours.

Long-Term Renewable Contract Adjustment:This charge recovers costs associated with long term renewable contracts entered into to satisfy the requirements of the Green Communities Act.

Meter Constant:  Due to their design, some meters record a fraction of the total usage.  The meter constant is the number that is multiplied by the reading on those meters to obtain the actual total usage.

Net Metering Recovery Surcharge:  This charge recovers net metering credits applied to customers with excess generation from on-site generation facilities (i.e. agricultural, gas, solar, or wind facilities), and the distribution portion of revenue displaced by such generation. 

Off Peak:  A period of time as designated in the Company’s tariff when the need or demand for electricity on the Company’s system is low, such as late evenings and holidays.

On Peak:  A period of time as designated in the Company’s tariff when the need or demand for electricity on the Company’s system is high, normally during the day, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

Pension/PBOP Adjustment Factor:  This charge recovers costs associated with pension and post-retirement benefits other than pensions (“PBOP”).  This factor is adjusted annually to recover pension and PBOP costs and to reconcile these expense amounts included in the Company’s distribution rates with the total expenses.

Revenue Decoupling Adjustment Factor:  This rate component provides a mechanism to adjust rates for distribution service in order to reconcile actual distribution revenue with the approved distribution target revenue.  

Residential Assistance Adjustment Factor: This rate component recovers the revenue discount given to residential assistance customers enrolled in the Company’s discounted rate (Rate RD-2), incremental costs directly related to the Company’s approved Arrearage Management Program, and includes any payments, for hardship protected accounts, made by Customers towards the amortized balance.

Capital Cost Adjustment:  This rate component recovers cost associated with utility plant additions recorded by the Company since December 31, 2014.  

Sales Tax: A state tax of 6.25% applied to your charges for electricity.  The tax is collected by the Company and remitted to the state.  Sales of electricity for residential purposes are exempt.  Sales of utilities are also exempt when sold to businesses with five or fewer employees and gross income of less than $1 million, or to manufacturing facilities that use at least 75 percent of their energy in manufacturing or heating the manufacturing facility.

Solar Cost Adjustment Factor: This rate component recovers costs associated with the investment and ongoing maintenance costs of Solar Generation Facilities constructed, owned and operated pursuant to Section 1A(f) of Chapter 164 of the General Laws, as amended by An Act Relative to Solar Energy (“Act”).

2017 Tax Act Credit Factor: This rate component provides a credit related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Terms of Payment: The charges for service are net, billed monthly and payable upon presentation of the bill.  For business customers, interest charges will be added from the date of the original bill if current charges for electricity are not paid and received by the Company or its agents within twenty-five (25) days.  Interest charges shall be calculated at an annual rate of interest which is the equivalent of the rate paid on two-year United States Treasury notes for the preceding 12 months ending December 31 of any year, plus 10 percent, i.e. 1000 basis points, in accordance with 220 CMR 26.00.  The monthly interest charge is also added to accounts until all arrears have been paid.

Typical Rate Change Dates

• January 1 – Distribution Charge, Transition Charge, Transmission Charge, Energy Efficiency Charge
• June 1 and December 1 – Basic Service Charges (fixed)
• Monthly – Basic Service Charges (variable)

Additional Information
If you have any questions about our charges, please contact our Customer Service Department by calling toll-free at 888-301-7700. Questions may also be addressed to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) at 617-737-2836 or toll-free at 877-886-5066.