Understanding Your United Illuminating Bill

United Illuminating is one of the largest and most trusted electricity suppliers in Connecticut. If your electricity is supplied by them, then you'll be sent a bill every month. Understanding this bill is very important, and there are lots of terms that might confuse you.

At the top of your United Illuminating bill, you'll see basic information printed for you. This includes your name and address, as well as the date of your bill. You'll also see one of the most important details of all, the due date of your bill. This is the date by which you have to make your full payment. The amount due will be present next to this date, right at the top of the page.

1. Your Customer Name Key and your POD Number. You'll need these items when you switch service

2. Contact Information for United Illuminating

3. Your Generation Service Charges

4. Your Delivery Charges

5. Your Clean Energy Charges (Optional)

View United Illuminating Electricity Plans

Write a review for United Illuminating

Down the left-hand side of the page you'll find contact information should you need to get in touch with Eversource. If you have inquiries about electric rates in Connecticut or any strange charges, use this info to contact customer service. There is also information on your supplier, as well as comparison charts for your previous bills.

Before your bill is broken down, you'll see an Account Summary section. This gives you details of your account and tells you of any money you owe or are owed. It is also where you find the amount you're being charged for your electricity usage. You'll be shown a meter reading taken by Eversource for the current period. It's broken down to show you the exact amount of electricity you used, and how much it costs you. If they were unable to take a reading, then they'll make an estimation of your usage using previous bills. If you're unhappy with the estimated reading, you can take action. Read the meter yourself, and call the customer service hotline. Supply UI with the correct readings and they'll send you a revised bill.

Then, you move onto all the additional charges you have to pay. There are numerous charges, and here is some information to help you understand them all:

Transmission Charges

You're charged a fee for the delivery of electricity from the generation company to UI. This transmission is done over high-voltage power lines.

Distribution Charges

UI will charge you for the distribution of electricity. This involves electricity being sent to properties over wires and poles. Think of this as a delivery charge, like paying a shipping company for delivering a package.

Public Benefits Charge

This is a combined charge that gets used to fund public benefits programs in the area. A percentage of CT energy rates are used to help improve the community. This includes charges for Conservation and Load Management, Renewable Energy Investment, and System Benefits.

All of these charges are added up to create a subtotal. This figure is then combined with the usage figure higher up the page. When added together, they make the total amount due. It's important that you understand how much your electricity bill actually costs. Some people make the mistake of only paying for their usage. The entirety of your bill has to be paid before the due date stated at the top of the page. Late payments may result in additional charges on your next bill.