The Customer Benefit Contribution Charge, Explained

If you install solar in New York you will acquire a line on your bill that was not there before. It is called the Customer Benefit Contribution, and it is almost never mentioned in a sales proposal. It is not large, but it is real, it recurs every month for the life of the system, and it differs by utility in a way that surprises people.

What it is and what it funds

New York funds a set of public benefit programmes — low-income assistance, energy efficiency, clean energy — through charges levied on electricity consumption. A solar customer buys far fewer kilowatt-hours and therefore contributes far less to those programmes, while continuing to use the same distribution network.

The Customer Benefit Contribution restores that contribution. Each utility calculates its own rate so that a customer’s annual contribution to the public benefit programmes ends up the same with solar as it would have been without it. It is, in effect, a charge designed to make solar neutral for programmes that everyone else is still paying for.

How it is calculated

On the DC size of your system, in kilowatts, multiplied by a per-kW-month rate. Not on production. A system that generates nothing in a grey February still pays the same amount that month as it does in July.

So the arithmetic is: system size in kW × the rate = your monthly charge. That is the whole calculation, and you can do it before you sign.

Every 2026 rate, utility by utility

These are the final 2026 residential rates for net-metered PV, published by NYSERDA from the utilities’ own filings:

• Central Hudson — $1.67 per kW-month
• RG&E — $1.31
• Con Edison — $1.29
• NYSEG — $1.19
• LIPA / PSEG Long Island — $1.13
• Orange & Rockland — $1.00
• National Grid — $0.97

What an 8 kW system therefore pays each month: $13.36 on Central Hudson, $10.48 on RG&E, $10.32 on Con Edison, $9.52 on NYSEG, $9.04 on Long Island, $8.00 on Orange & Rockland, $7.76 on National Grid. Annualised, that is a spread of roughly $93 to $160 a year for the same system on the same kind of roof.

If your project is on the Value Stack (VDER) tariff rather than net metering, the 2026 residential rates are lower: Central Hudson $0.84, Con Edison $0.65, RG&E $0.65, NYSEG $0.60, Orange & Rockland $0.50, National Grid $0.49. Mass-market LIPA projects cannot opt into VDER at all.

Who does not pay it

Three exemptions, and they are worth knowing because two of them come up constantly:

• Systems interconnected before 1 January 2022, including later expansions to those systems. If your neighbour installed in 2019 and pays nothing, this is why.
• Front-of-the-meter projects, including community solar. A community solar subscriber does not pay a CBC. This is a genuine and rarely mentioned point in favour of community solar for someone weighing the two.
• Commercial accounts that already carry a demand charge.

The part that catches people out

The rate is not locked in. Unlike net metering, which a system holds for 20 years from interconnection, the CBC is recalculated annually and the utilities file new rates each year. The number you are quoted this year is this year’s number. It is a small charge, but it is a small charge with no ceiling written into your agreement, and any twenty-year saving projection that treats it as fixed is making an assumption it has not told you about.

How to check your own

1. Find the DC system size in kW on your proposal or your interconnection paperwork. It is the number in kW-DC, not the inverter’s AC rating.
2. Multiply by your utility’s rate above.
3. Compare that against the monthly saving the proposal claims. If the proposal never mentioned the charge, that is worth raising before you sign rather than after.

Rates are filed by the utilities with the Department of Public Service and published by NYSERDA each year, so the current figure is always verifiable rather than something you have to take on trust.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Customer Benefit Contribution charge?

A monthly charge on New York solar customers who interconnected on or after 1 January 2022. It restores the contribution a solar household would otherwise stop making to public benefit programmes such as low-income assistance and energy efficiency, which are funded through charges on electricity consumption.

How much is the CBC in New York for 2026?

It depends on your utility. The 2026 residential rates for net-metered PV are Central Hudson $1.67, RG&E $1.31, Con Edison $1.29, NYSEG $1.19, LIPA $1.13, Orange & Rockland $1.00 and National Grid $0.97, all per kW-month of DC system size.

Who is exempt from the CBC charge?

Systems interconnected before 1 January 2022 including later expansions to them, front-of-the-meter projects such as community solar, and commercial accounts that already carry a demand charge.

Is the CBC rate fixed for the life of my system?

No. Unlike net metering, which is held for 20 years from interconnection, the CBC is recalculated annually and customers do not lock in a rate. Any long-term saving projection that treats it as fixed is making an unstated assumption.

Do community solar subscribers pay the CBC?

No. Community solar is a front-of-the-meter arrangement and is exempt, which is a rarely mentioned advantage when weighing a subscription against a rooftop system.

This article is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Incentive amounts, eligibility rules and deadlines change and depend on your utility, your tax situation and your property. Confirm current terms with NYSERDA, your utility and a qualified tax professional before making a decision.