Transmission Costs

You may have noticed that the Transmission Charge on your January bill (billed and delivered in February) increased while the Energy Charge decreased. The transmission and energy rate structure did not change. However, FIEC consolidated the transmission costs in the Transmission line on the bill (some of the transmission costs used to be included in the Energy Charge).

It is expensive to move or “transmit” energy generated on the mainland to North Haven and Vinalhaven. FIEC incurs transmission charges from the ISO-NE energy market and Central Maine Power. The transmission charges add from $0.03 to $0.05 to every kWh. The new billing will show the full transmission costs on one line – notice the following difference in the bills:

December 2024 Bill

Transmission            $0.0002520/kWh

Energy Charge          $0.1699233/kWh (includes over $0.03 of transmission costs)

January 2025 Bill    

               Transmission            $0.0385682/kWh

               Energy Charge          $0.1393795/kWh

The bill change provides a clear representation of our utility costs and is useful when we compare our bills to those of other utilities.

FIEC’s Transmission Charge and Energy Charge are pass-through charges based on the monthly costs of transmitting and generating electricity; FIEC does not earn any money on these charges. Transmission costs are incurred when FIEC uses the grid owned by other utilities. Energy generated by Fox Islands Wind and used on our islands does not incur transmission costs because the on-island grid is already owned and operated by FIEC.

Our transmission costs are lower when we generate and use energy on our islands, which is one of the reasons FIEC and FIW are exploring battery storage and island generation projects.