Winter Heating Bills Are Rising Again: Is National Grid or New York State to Blame?

CENTRAL NEW YORK — As colder weather approaches, families and small businesses across Upstate New York are once again bracing for potentially painful winter utility bills — and many ratepayers are asking the same question:

Why does it sometimes seem like the cost to deliver our energy is as much as or even more than the energy we actually use?

The answer is complicated, and responsibility doesn't fall entirely on either National Grid or New York State.

National Grid customers are already in the middle of a three-year rate plan approved by the New York State Public Service Commission in August 2025. Under that agreement, electric delivery revenues were approved to increase by 6.4% in the first rate year, 10.9% in the second and 8.2% in the third. The current second rate year began September 1, 2026.

That means the increase hitting customers isn't simply the result of higher electricity or natural-gas prices.

A significant portion of the bill is the delivery side — the cost associated with getting electricity or natural gas to homes and businesses.

Your Utility Bill Is Really Two Bills in One

New York's Department of Public Service explains that utility bills generally contain two major components:

Supply is the cost of the electricity or natural gas itself.

Delivery covers transporting that energy through the utility's system and includes infrastructure, meters, billing, maintenance and other costs.

Supply prices largely fluctuate with energy markets. Delivery rates, on the other hand, are regulated by the New York State Public Service Commission.

That's an important distinction.

National Grid asks regulators for permission to increase its delivery rates. The PSC then reviews those requests and determines what the utility is ultimately allowed to charge customers.

In National Grid's most recent case, the company originally sought a 25.5% increase in electric delivery revenues and 29.7% increase in gas delivery revenues for its first rate year. The PSC ultimately approved substantially smaller increases than National Grid requested.

But smaller than the original request doesn't necessarily mean small to the person or business paying the bill.

Why Are There So Many Charges Under "Delivery"?

This is where many customers become frustrated.

A delivery portion of a National Grid bill isn't simply the cost of maintaining the poles and wires outside your home.

National Grid's own rate information shows that delivery-related billing can include numerous components and adjustments.

Among them are the basic service charge, delivery charges, transmission-related adjustments, legacy transition charges, revenue-decoupling adjustments and other mechanisms.

There are also charges tied to public-policy programs.

National Grid specifically states that its System Benefits Charge reflects costs associated with mandated programs including low-income assistance, energy-efficiency initiatives, research and development and advancement of renewable-energy resources.

So when customers ask whether government policy contributes to the delivery side of their utility bills, the answer is yes, in part.

But it would be inaccurate to say that the entire delivery charge is simply New York State collecting money for unrelated projects.

Much of it pays for the utility system itself: transmission and distribution infrastructure, meters, maintenance, billing and other regulated costs. Some additional charges and surcharges recover costs connected to programs and policies authorized or required through the state's regulatory structure.

$100 or $200 Check Relief or a Drop in the Bucket?

New York State is now sending millions of residents one-time Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate, or POWER, checks.

Qualifying single taxpayers with income of $150,000 or less are eligible for $100.

Married couples filing jointly with income of $150,000 or less can receive $200, while qualifying joint filers earning between $150,000 and $300,000 receive $150.

The checks are being mailed beginning this fall as part of a roughly $1 billion statewide energy-relief program.

For households struggling with energy costs, that money certainly won't hurt.

But the larger question is how far a one-time $100 or $200 check goes when customers face recurring utility expenses every month.

A $200 check amounts to about $16.67 per month when spread across an entire year.

For a household facing hundreds of dollars in winter heating bills, that relief can disappear quickly.

And for many small businesses operating larger buildings, storefronts, restaurants, workshops or offices, the scale of their energy expenses can make a household-sized rebate look even smaller by comparison.

Small Businesses Can't Simply Absorb Every Increase

The impact on small businesses deserves particular attention.

When electricity, natural gas, insurance, wages, supplies and other operating expenses rise simultaneously, business owners have limited choices.

They can absorb the expense and accept lower profits.

They can cut other costs.

Or they can raise prices.

Eventually, many of those increased expenses work their way down to consumers.

A restaurant paying more to heat its building and operate refrigerators, freezers and cooking equipment cannot indefinitely absorb those costs.

Neither can a manufacturer, retail store, auto shop, office complex or other local business.

Higher utility costs therefore don't necessarily stop with the person whose name appears on the National Grid bill.

They can ripple through the local economy.

So Who Is Responsible? National Grid or New York State?

The most accurate answer is: both have a role, but for different reasons.

National Grid operates the infrastructure and files requests seeking higher regulated delivery revenues.

New York's Public Service Commission determines what delivery rates the utility is permitted to collect.

At the same time, New York law and energy policy require utilities to collect money supporting certain state-mandated programs, which can become components of customer bills.

The PSC did significantly reduce National Grid's original rate request before approving its current three-year plan. But customers are still facing approved increases — including the larger second-year increase now taking effect.

Meanwhile, New York continues making substantial investments in energy infrastructure and clean-energy programs. Just this month, the Hochul administration announced another nearly $1 billion Sustainable Future Program that includes investments in renewable energy, building programs and energy infrastructure.

Those policies have supporters who argue that modernizing the grid and investing in cleaner energy will ultimately improve reliability, reduce emissions and control long-term energy costs.

Critics and ratepayers, however, continue questioning how much of that transition should be financed through utility bills — particularly when families and small businesses are already struggling with affordability.

The Question Ratepayers Should Be Asking

Perhaps the larger issue isn't simply whether National Grid or Albany deserves the blame.

It is whether customers can clearly understand exactly where every dollar on their utility bill is going.

When a customer sees an energy supply charge followed by delivery-related charges that can represent a substantial portion of the total bill, it's reasonable to ask what those charges are funding.

How much maintains poles, wires, gas lines, and substations?

How much pays for utility operations?

How much represents approved utility investment?

How much supports state-mandated programs?

And how much are customers ultimately paying because of broader New York energy policy?

Those questions become even more important as another Central New York winter approaches.

A one-time $100 or $200 rebate check may provide some short-term help, but it doesn't change the monthly rate structure.

For families and small businesses already watching every dollar, the bigger concern isn't one winter bill.

It's what happens when higher energy costs become the new normal, with no clear end in sight.