Understanding Your New BMLD Bill
Your electric bill now includes a breakdown of electricity charges that are included in the total amount you pay each month. This breakdown is included on the back page of your monthly bill.
The following information is provided to help you better understand your bill. Point your mouse at the different sections of the bill in the images below to get a more detailed description.
Account Summary
Includes account and bill numbers; BMLD payment plan (payment plan amount, budget payment amount and the remaining balance of the annual payment plan); account activity (previous month payment received and any unpaid balance); and current charges.
Total amount due
Total amount due includes balance forward, interest on past due amounts, and current charges.
Monthly usage history
Provides a customer-specific comparison of electric usage for a 13-month period. Includes usage in kilowatt-hours in graph form, as well with the number of actual kilowatt-hours used each month and the number of days in each billing cycle. This information can be used to determine which months the most electricity is used and to compare usage during the same month the previous year. Information for BMLD customers with less than one year with BMLD will be listed according to the number of months of service.
Energy Calculations
Contains a breakdown of the current month charges according to kilowatt-hours of electricity used, and the appropriate rate class; i.e.: Residential A, Commercial, etc. In addition to the customer’s meter number and the dates of the previous and present readings, customers can also monitor the actual reading numbers from one month to the next, and see the per kilowatt-hour rates and/or credits for each charge related to your electric service. BMLD bills are now unbundled, which means that the various charges, including generation, transmission and distribution are listed separately, along with the charges/credits on previously unbundled bills.
Distribution charge
This is the cost of delivering electricity from the electric distribution network to your home or business over local electric lines.
Transmission charge
The cost of transporting electricity from the power plant (the source of electric supply) to the distribution network (the Belmont/Cambridge line) over high voltage power lines.
NYPA hydro credit
This is the amount of the charge or credit to BMLD for the purchase of hydropower from the New York Power Authority. These charges/savings are passed on to residential customers only up to the first 500 kWh used for each month.
Purchased power and Transmission Adjustment
The purchased power cost is the difference between the power and transmission costs collected from customers through base rates and BMLD’s actual power and transmission costs for that quarter. This adjustment may be a charge or a credit on the bill.