Learning center

Important New York electricity terms

Use this page as a decoder ring when reading bills, proposals, and installer decks. Programs and tariffs change — verify anything time-sensitive with your utility and qualified pros.

Kilowatt-hour (kWh)

The unit on your bill for energy used over time. Power (kW) is instantaneous; kWh is power × hours. Solar production, annual usage, and proposal savings are almost always discussed in kWh. If a salesperson talks only in dollars, ask what kWh assumptions they used.

Delivery (distribution) vs supply (energy)

On many New York bills you will see delivery charges (wires, transformers, reliability, sometimes demand-related components on commercial accounts) separate from supply or energy charges. Your utility typically delivers power; supply may be the utility’s default service or an ESCO. Solar and bill ‘offset’ conversations need to be clear about which parts of the bill change and which fees stay.

ESCO (Energy Service Company)

A company that may supply electricity (or gas) while your local utility still delivers it. Shopping can change the supply portion of your bill; it does not replace the utility’s delivery role. Solar economics and export credits are a different layer — do not confuse ESCO marketing with net metering or distributed generation rules.

Fixed charges & minimum bills

Monthly customer or service charges that do not disappear just because solar offsets a lot of energy. High ‘percent offset’ on a proposal can still leave a meaningful bill when fixed charges, riders, and non-bypassable fees are included. Always ask what line items the savings model held constant.

Net metering, export, and compensation for solar

Rules for how excess solar generation is credited or compensated depend on your utility, program enrollment date, and New York’s evolving distributed energy framework (including Value of Distributed Energy Resources — VDER — for many projects). Installers should explain, in writing, how your specific utility treats exports and what happens across seasons. If they only show a single ‘credit rate,’ ask for the full story.

VDER (Value of Distributed Energy Resources)

New York’s approach to valuing distributed energy in many situations, often discussed alongside community solar and certain export compensation structures. It is not one simple number statewide. For rooftop solar, your proposal should tie compensation to your utility’s current rules and your project type — not a generic national blog post.

Interconnection

The formal process of connecting your solar (or battery) system to the grid safely and in compliance with utility requirements. It includes application, possible upgrades, and permission to operate (PTO). Timelines and paperwork matter for when savings start — a contract signature date is not the same as PTO.

PTO (Permission to operate)

Utility approval to run your system in parallel with the grid under agreed conditions. Until PTO is in place, you may not be getting the bill impact you expect. Proposals that imply instant savings should show where interconnection and PTO fit in the timeline.

Federal ITC (Investment Tax Credit)

A federal tax credit for qualifying solar projects, subject to IRS rules, eligibility, and phase-down schedules. It is not a rebate at checkout. For whether you can use it and how it interacts with financing, talk to a tax professional — not a sales deck.

NY-Sun & NYSERDA programs

New York State programs and incentives that can reduce upfront cost or change effective pricing for qualifying projects. Availability, block status, and paperwork vary. Your installer should name the specific program path they modeled — and you should verify it against current public documentation.

Main panel & service size (e.g. 100A vs 200A)

Your service size and panel capacity limit how much load you can add (EV charger, heat pump, solar inverter, battery) without upgrades. ‘We can fit 40 panels’ is meaningless if the main disconnect or bus rating is the real constraint. This is why WNY homes often need sequencing, not just a bigger array.

Critical loads

The circuits you truly need in an outage — often fridge, furnace or heat pump support, sump, select lights, internet, medical devices. Whole-home backup is expensive; targeted critical loads usually match WNY budgets and runtime expectations better.

Transfer switch & backup boundaries

Equipment that defines what is powered during an outage for a generator or battery. The quality of backup is not just kWh of battery — it is which panels are isolated, how fast transfer happens, and whether sensitive electronics see blips.

Price per watt ($/W)

Total contract price divided by DC system watts (industry shorthand). It is a useful comparison ruler only when everyone counts the same inverters, labor, permits, and electrical upgrades. Our 60-second benchmark is a sanity band — not a substitute for reading the contract.

Dealer fees & financed solar

Many solar loans add dealer fees that are not obvious in a low monthly payment pitch. Compare cash price vs financed total — not just payment — when evaluating proposals.