Ever wonder what the charges on your PSE&G bill actually mean? We’re here to help you better understand what goes into your monthly electric and gas bills. With various charges and line items, it’s easy to feel like your bill is a collection of numbers rather than a reflection of the services that power your home.
We are committed to delivering safe, reliable and affordable electricity and gas to all of our customers. Your electric and gas bill reflects the product you use and the investments we make to maintain and improve our energy infrastructure. These investments help us keep your lights on and homes warm, even during severe weather conditions, so you can count on us.
Let’s break down the components of your electric and gas bill so you can better understand how your bill works—and how we keep energy reliable and affordable. Of course, some of you have only electric service with PSE&G, some are gas-only, and many are combined electric and gas. Specific bill information will vary by customer.
Before we dive into the details, it’s helpful to start by understanding how energy usage is measured. You’ll see the following terms on your bill.
- Electricity usage: Electricity is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Watching TV on a standard 150-watt LCD screen (typically a 50-inch TV) for about 7 hours consumes 1 kWh of electricity (Source).
- Gas usage: Gas is measured by volume in cubic feet (CCF) and then converted into therms, which is the unit used for billing. Running a standard gas clothes dryer for about 6 hours uses 1 therm of energy (Source).
What’s in your bill?
Think of your monthly electric and gas bill like a pizza. Each slice represents a portion of the cost of energy delivered and used in your home (or business). So, just like different slices of a pizza make up the whole pie, every part of your bill plays a role in bringing the energy you need from where it is produced from across the region to the pipes, poles and wires down your street to your home.
Here’s a breakdown of the key charges you’ll see on both your electric and gas bill:
- Delivery charges: Charges for delivering electricity and gas to your home include the following:
- Distribution charge: This charge covers the cost for us to build, maintain and deliver electricity and gas from substations (electric) and meter stations (gas) to your home using electric lines, poles, gas pipes and the other equipment needed to keep energy flowing safely and reliably.
- Other charges: These charges include programs that benefit communities and the environment, typically smaller portions of your bill. Some of these charges help fund policy and societal benefit goals like using less energy, protecting the environment and helping families who need assistance. They go beyond simply delivering or supplying your electricity or gas, and help support efforts that make energy cleaner, more efficient and more accessible for everyone.
- Monthly service charge: A fee to maintain your account. This is a set fee that helps cover the basic costs of managing your account, like sending your bill and making improvements to the system that delivers your energy.
- Supply charges: The cost you pay for the electricity or gas you use.
If PSE&G supplies your electricity or gas, this charge covers the cost of buying that energy for you. The cost to transport this energy from its source to the local delivery system is also included in supply charges. Supply charges are comprised of both the cost for the energy you use (electricity or gas) and the cost associated with bringing that energy from where it is produced to the local delivery system.
The energy you use often comes from as far away as Pennsylvania, Ohio or further over a network of high voltage lines for electric or interstate pipelines for gas.
Similar to distribution, your usage is measured in kWh for electric and therms for gas.
Utilities like PSE&G do not make a profit on the portion of the supply charge that reflects energy usage (i.e. the energy you consume); these costs are passed through directly to customers with no mark-up.
You do have the option to choose a different company to supply your energy. On your PSE&G bill, you’ll see “Price to Compare (PTC).” This will help you decide whether to purchase electricity or natural gas from PSE&G or a third-party supplier. If you choose this option, while that company will charge you for their supply to you, those charges will appear as a line item on your PSE&G bill.
To view an sample residential customer bill, click here.
To view an sample business customer bill, click here.
Delivering reliable, affordable energy
From the cost of generating electricity and storing gas, to maintaining the power lines and gas pipes that deliver energy safely and reliably to your home, each line item in your bill reflects the infrastructure and services it takes to keep your lights on and homes warm.
We understand that energy costs can be a challenge for some of our neighbors and want you to know that there are assistance programs available to help eligible customers manage their energy bills. These include the Universal Service Fund (USF), LIHEAP and NJ SHARES, among others. Find more information about all of them at pseg.com/help.
We encourage you to learn more about our available energy efficiency programs that can help you use less energy to lower your bill, billing options and energy-saving tips as another way to help you manage expenses and reduce overall costs. To learn more about these programs, visit pseg.com/saveenergy.
Our job goes beyond just keeping your lights on and homes warm. We’re working hard every day to bring you the tools, programs and support you need, while delivering safe, reliable energy at the lowest possible cost.
