We provide sample bills to help walk you through charges and definitions that you may see on yours. Click the links below to view a sample residential or commercial & industrial bill, depending on your customer type.

Sample residential bill

Sample commercial & industrial bill 

Residential Budget Billing Option

Our residential customers can enjoy the convenience of fixed monthly payments throughout the year with our Budget Billing Program. Energy bills fluctuate during the year as your energy usage keeps pace with changes in the weather. Paying more some months and less other months can be troublesome to families with a fixed income. Distribute your payments evenly throughout the year by enrolling in our Budget Billing Program.

How It Works

The Budget Billing Program for the Unitil service area operates on an annual cycle that begins in October and ends in August. Residential accounts may be enrolled in the current budget cycle from October through June each year. Non-residential accounts are not eligible for this program.

We calculate the monthly budget payment amount for the current budget cycle by using the actual total charges for all your electric, gas or other services during the same period of the previous year as a reference.

Any projected increases or decreases that are anticipated for the remainder of the current budget cycle will be added or subtracted to determine your estimated total charges. The estimated total charges are then divided by the remaining number of months in the current budget cycle to determine your budget payment amount.

Your account will be reviewed periodically to ensure it is keeping pace with your actual charges. If we need to adjust your payment amount, you will be notified by mail.

August August September is considered the "settle up" month. If you have paid more than your actual charges and you have a credit balance of $100.00 or more, we will issue a refund check to you. If your account has a credit balance that is less than $100.00, the credit balance will be applied to your next bill. Any balance on your account must be paid in full by the due date shown on your September September October bill.

To continue on the Budget Billing Program, the budget payment amount must be paid each month.

To Enroll

• Simply log in to your online account and select the Budget Billing form from the left-hand menu.
• You will see our estimate for what your monthly budget amount will be if you enroll in the program.
• Once your enrollment information has been electronically sent, your account will be verified and eligibility will be determined.
• When your enrollment request has been approved, you will receive an email verifying the monthly budget amount. Your budget plan will begin with your next bill.
• Any amount due on your account prior to enrolling in the program will not be included and must be paid in full by the due date stated on the bill.

• kWh: the electricity you use is measured in units called Kilowatt-hours (kWh). One kWh equals the amount of electricity needed to light a 100-watt light bulb for 10 hours.
• Meter Constant: the number by which the reading on certain meters must be multiplied to obtain the total usage.
• Due Date: your payment is due 25 days following the date postmarked on the bill. For residential customers, amounts not paid prior to the due date will be subject to a late charge of 1% per month on the unpaid balance (equivalent to a 12% annual rate). For non-residential customers, amounts not paid prior to the due date will be subject to a late charge of 1.5% per month on the unpaid balance (equivalent to an 18% annual rate).
• Customer Charge: a charge that covers the costs of metering, meter reading, and preparing and mailing your bill. The Customer Charge does not change when your electric usage increases or decreases.
• Delivery Charge: a charge that covers the costs of delivering electricity to you, including transmission costs and costs of providing and maintaining an electric system (poles, wires, transformers and substations) which is capable of serving your needs.
• Stranded Cost Charge: a charge that covers the costs associated with purchased power contract obligations that existed prior to restructuring.
• System Benefits Charge: a charge that covers the costs associated with the statewide low-income electric assistance program and energy efficiency programs provided by Unitil.
• Electricity Consumption Tax: a state-mandated tax on energy consumption which is collected by all electric utilities on behalf of the state.
• Energy Service Charge: a charge that covers the cost of power supplied to you by Unitil. This service is available to customers that return to Unitil for their energy supply after receiving energy supply service from a competitive supplier.

• CCF: the basic measurement of the gas you used. Natural gas is measured by volume. One ccf equals one hundred cubic feet of gas.
• Therm: the basic measurement of the heat content of the gas you used. We bill you on the number of therms of natural gas used. The therm factor converts the volume of gas used from ccf to therms. One therm equals 100,000 BTUs (British Thermal Units).
• Distribution Charge: a charge that covers the cost of delivering natural gas through our pipes to your home or business. It includes our investment in the pipe and other equipment to make gas delivery possible.
• Distribution Adjustment Charge: a charge that covers the cost of environmental conservation and industry restructuring programs.
• Default Service: the charge for natural gas that is supplied to you by Unitil if you do not choose another supplier. This charge includes the cost of interstate transportation and the purchase and storage of your natural gas.

• Customer Charge: a monthly fixed charge that recovers the cost of metering, meter reading and preparing and mailing your bill. The Customer Charge does not change when your electric use increases or decreases.
• Distribution Charge: a charge that recovers the cost of delivering electricity through Unitil's distribution system to your location.
• Transition Charge: a charge that recovers "deregulation" costs including stranded investments in generating plants and power contracts.
• Transmission Charge: a charge that recovers the cost of transmitting bulk power over high voltage power lines from the generation source to Unitil's distribution system.
• Renewable Energy Charge: a state-mandated charge that provides funds to the state for research and development of environmentally-clean power sources such as solar, wind, biomass and hydro.

• Generation Charge: a charge for the cost of the actual electric commodity purchased for your use.
• kWh: the electricity you use is measured in units called kilowatt-hours (kWh). One kWh equals the amount of electricity needed to light a 100-watt light bulb for 10 hours.
• Meter Constant: the number by which the reading on certain meters must be multiplied to obtain the actual total usage.
• Demand Charge (non-residential customers only): the cost of providing generation, electric transmission and distribution to accommodate your largest electrical load.

• Customer Charge: a fixed monthly charge that recovers the cost of metering, meter reading and preparing and mailing your bill. The Customer Charge does not change when your usage of natural gas increases or decreases.
• Distribution Charge: the cost of delivering natural gas through Unitil's pipes to your home or business. It includes our investment in the pipe and other equipment to meet your needs.
• Distribution Adjustment Charge: this charge recovers certain environmental costs, and secures funds for Unitil to provide energy efficiency programs to all its gas customers.

• Default Service: if you do not choose another supplier, Unitil will continue to provide the natural gas commodity. This charge recovers the cost of acquiring gas for your use and having that gas shipped to Unitil's gas distribution system.

• CCF: the basic measurement of the gas you used. Natural gas is measured by volume. One ccf equals one hundred cubic feet of gas.
• Therm: the basic measurement of the heat content of the gas you used. We bill you on the number of therms of natural gas used. The therm factor converts the volume of gas used from ccf to therms. One therm equals 100,000 BTUs (British Thermal Units).
• Distribution Charge: a charge that covers the cost of delivering natural gas through our pipes to your home or business. It includes our investment in the pipe and other equipment to make gas delivery possible.
• Distribution Adjustment Charge: a charge that covers the cost of environmental conservation and industry restructuring programs.
• Default Service: the charge for natural gas that is supplied to you by Unitil if you do not choose another supplier. This charge includes the cost of interstate transportation and the purchase and storage of your natural gas.