You asked for a description of items on a residential electric bill.

ITEMS ON AN ELECTRIC BILL

A residential customer's electric bill consists of charges for distribution and transmission, the competitive transition assessment (CTA), the systems benefit charge (SBC), and charges for conservation and load management, renewable energy, and generation services. The distribution charge consists of a flat monthly fee, which reflects the electric company's costs for such things as maintaining a customer's account and a charge for delivering the power on the lines that run along streets. The latter is priced in cents per kilowatt-hour (kwh), which is the amount of power used by ten 100-watt light bulbs in one hour. The transmission charge covers the cost of sending electricity along high power lines from generating plants to substations.

The next four charges were established in the 1998 legislation that opened the electric market to retail competition, although part of the costs they cover previously were in electric rates. The CTA covers costs that were previously approved by the Department of Public Utility Control, but whose continued recovery was threatened with the start of competition. The largest component of this charge covers the above-market costs of nuclear power plants.

The SBC covers the costs of various public policies. Some of these policies predate the legislation, for example, restrictions on the ability of utilities to terminate people for non-payment of their bills during the heating season. Others were added by the legislation, such as protections for electric company employees dislocated by the legislation.

The charges for conservation and renewable energy provide substantially more funding for utility programs in these areas than was provided before the legislation. While the department sets the CTA and SBC, the former two charges are set in statute. The charge for conservation and load management is 0. 3 cents per kwh. The charge for renewable energy programs is currently 0. 05 cents per kwh. Starting July 1, 2002, the charge for renewable energy will increase to 0. 075 cents per kwh. The charge will increase to 0. 1 cents per kwh starting July 1, 2004.

The charge for generation services (the cost of the power itself) depends on whether a customer has chosen a supplier. If he has, the charge is the amount that he and his supplier have agreed to. If he has not chosen a supplier, the electric company must provide him with standard offer service. The rate for this service for most Connecticut Light & Power residential customers is 5. 6 cents per kwh; for most United Illuminating customers it is 5. 0 cents per kwh. Currently more than 99% of all customers are on standard offer service. The standard offer requirement runs until December 31, 2003; after that time the companies will have to provide default service to customers who do not choose a supplier. The department will set the rate for default service in accordance with the law.

Electric bills also contain information regarding a customer's use of electricity. They indicate the total amount due and any arrearage that a customer may have. Bills for customers who have chosen suppliers also provide information regarding the environmental characteristics of the power they are buying. This includes the types of plants the supplier uses to generate power and the air pollution emission rates of these plants.

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