Understanding Your Electric Bill

See a sample bill

 

Electric Charges
A residential electric bill is made up of four main charges: Customer Charge, Distribution Charges, Energy Charges and Taxes and Surcharges.

Customer Charge
This amount is a fixed charge per meter. It pays for costs that do not vary with usage, such as meter reading/maintenance, billing costs, customer service, the equipment providing service into the customer's property, as well as a portion of the system of wires, poles and pipes.

Distribution Charge
The Distribution charge is a set cost per kilowatt hour that supports the cost of construction, operation, maintenance and administration of the electric system. This charge does not include the cost of electricity that you used.

Energy Charge
The Energy Charge includes the cost of energy that you used and Easton Utilities purchased on your behalf. As a not-for-profit utility, Easton Utilities purchases the energy that customers need and passes the cost along without markup

Taxes and Surcharges
The State of Maryland requires that we collect certain taxes and surcharges that are then sent directly to the State, including charges for the Universal Service Program, Franchise Tax, and Environmental Surcharge.

Striving to Save You Money
Easton Utilities buys electric energy on the wholesale market. Purchases could be long or short-term contracts or daily "real time" and market prices. To help keep costs low, we can utilize our own electric generation facility. This means if prices on the market become too high, we can run our own generators at a lesser cost and pass those savings directly to you.


 

Residential Service
Applicable to one-family residences or one-family apartments

Charge   Summer Billing Months
(June-September)
Winter Billing Months
(October-May)
Customer Charge   $6.18/month $6.18/month
Distribution Rate Up to 1000 kWh $0.052/kWh $0.052/kWh
Over 1000 kWh $0.052/kWh $0.036/kWh
Energy Charge   varies varies
Universal Service Program $0.32 $0.32 $0.32
Franchise Tax   $0.000620/kWh $0.000620/kWh
Environmental Surcharge   $0.000146/kWh $0.000146/kWh

 


 

General Service Small (GS-S)
Available to customers that have an average maximum measured demand of 250 kW or less
and desire service at secondary voltage (480 volts or less).

Charge    
Customer Charge   $12.62/month
Distribution Charge up to 10,000 kWh $0.0543/kWh
over 10,000 kWh $0.0373 kWh
Demand Charge up to 15 kW no charge
over 15 kW $5.23/kW
Energy Charge   varies
Universal Service Program   varies
Franchise Tax   $0.000620/kWh
Environmental Surcharge   $0.000146/kWh

 


 

General Service Large (GS-L)
Available to customers that have an average monthly maximum measured demand greater than 250 kW
and desire service at secondary voltage (480 volts or less)

Charge    
Customer Charge   $32.67/month
Distribution Charge up to 10,000 kWh $0.06247/kWh
over 10,000 kWh $0.02618/kWh
Demand Charge up to 15 kW no charge
over 15 kW $4.85/kW
Energy Charge   varies
Universal Service Program   varies
Franchise Tax   $0.000620/kWh
Environmental Surcharge   $0.000146/kWh

Other service classes exist. For more information about charges and terms of service, please see the Electric Tariff.

 


 

The energy prices are the largest and most volatile part of your bill. The energy price varies throughout the year and is not always predictable due to weather extremes and economic uncertainties. In summer, the price of electricity can be very high, while the price of natural gas can increase during the cold winter months.

As your public power utility, Easton Utilities works hard and takes pride in keeping our energy prices as low as possible. ​