Reliable Energy is critical to the success of every business and most often a cost that can be controlled through better understanding of energy use practices and through targeted programs and services. Although Niagara Mohawk's pricing for electric and natural gas retail service is established by tariffs which are filed with and approved by the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC), Niagara Mohawk may be able to help your business maximize its energy use.

*Applications are available in PDF format. Please print and complete the forms. They cannot be saved to file.

Low Cost Energy

Ask Us For an Estimate
Our Economic Development staff will work with you to better understand how your business currently uses energy and how that might change in the future. Using all of the tools available to us, we'll use the information you provide to develop an energy use profile for your business and an energy bill estimate.
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Acquiring Energy
Companies of all sizes are currently profiting from Niagara Mohawk's competitive electric rates. As a new or expanding customer, your business may also qualify for discounted business expansion rates. Utilizing the flexible electric rate structure your incremental electric price will be competitive with any other utility in the country. If your business locates in a New York State Empire Zone, you can expect to see substantial energy delivery discounts of up to 50% off standard electric and gas delivery rates.

Natural Gas distribution service is abundant throughout New York State. We will provide you with a list of approved natural gas suppliers so that you may negotiate the best package for your business.

Niagara Mohawk or one of our subsidiaries will also provide you with an Energy Cost and Conservation analysis in your new location, Power Quality Services, Electro-Technology referrals, Research and Development Services.
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Niagara Mohawk Incentives

Empire Zone Rates
Niagara Mohawk offers businesses that locate or expand in a New York State Empire Zone up to ten years of deep discounts on increased electricity and natural gas consumption.

Empire Zone Rider electric rates depend on the customer's service classification, delivery voltage and energy use profile. These prices can represent discounts of up to 50% percent from standard rates.

The main components of the discounted Empire Zone Rider electric bill are:

• A standard monthly customer charge ranging from $19.13 for a small commercial customer and to $3,172 per month for a large industrial customer
  
• A transmission delivery charge—$1.89 per kW per month for demand metered customers.
  
• A cost-based distribution delivery charge ranging from $.00307 per kWh to $.00705 per kWh (less than 3/10 of a penny to approx. 7/10 of a penny), depending on service classification and delivery voltage. There is no distribution delivery charge for customers taking service at subtransmission or transmission voltage.
  
• An electricity supply (generation) charge, which is a simple "pass through" of electric generation costs. This generation charge is variable and can increase or decrease with the market price of electric generation.
  

The Empire Zone Rider gas program offers discounts that range from 3 to 5 cents per therm, depending on service classification and consumption.

After local and state certification, customers are eligible for a full ten years of benefits on qualifying usage; the ten-year term begins with the first discounted bill. In order to access the discounted Empire Zone Rider rates, customers must become certified and contact Niagara Mohawk within six months of locating or expanding in an EDZ.

All Empire Zone Rider discounts are applicable only to incremental (new to Niagara Mohawk), permanent electricity and gas load. New customers are eligible for discounts on their entire usage. Existing Niagara Mohawk customers must increase their usage in order receive discounts, as follows:

• Electric demand metered customers must increase their demand (kW) by the lesser of 100 kW or 25 percent of existing demand.
  
• Electric non-demand metered customers must increase their usage (kWh) by at least 25 percent.
  
• Existing natural gas customers must also exceed historical usage in order to qualify; small general service gas customers must exceed 280 therms per month
  

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Electric Pricing Discounts (SC-12)
This electric pricing program has greatly enhanced Niagara Mohawk's ability to help existing and prospective customers capitalize on business opportunities. SC-12 is an umbrella program that covers the full range of competitive situations, including business attraction, business expansion and customer retention.

SC-12 utilizes standardized discount schedules for customers who meet basic eligibility criteria. Generally, these discounts are administered as a 5-year, declining percentage discount to the energy (per kWh) charge. In addition, Niagara Mohawk has the ability to individually negotiate SC-12 terms and conditions outside this standard structure in special cases-generally, situations involving extremely energy intensive customers or extremely large employers.

Eligibility for SC-12 is generally limited to manufacturing and certain service sector businesses such as wholesale trade, warehousing/storage, professional/scientific/technical services, and administrative/support services. Customer eligibility is driven by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), which is the new government standard for classifying businesses.
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SC-12 Growth Programs

• Business Attraction- This program offers discounts to prospective customers who are evaluating locations both inside and outside Niagara Mohawk's service territory. It is also open to new businesses considering a start-up of operations in the Niagara Mohawk service territory. There are two levels of attraction discounts, the deeper of which is available to more energy intensive manufacturers, as defined in the tariff with specific NAICS code.
  
• Business Expansion- Our business expansion program is available to current Niagara Mohawk customers (25 kW or larger) who are evaluating an expansion of their existing usage—either through physical expansion (i.e., increase in kW) or increased utilization (i.e., higher kWh usage). The customer's existing usage is "baselined," and discounts are applied above those historical levels of usage. Certain growth thresholds must be hit in order to qualify for discounts.
  

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Targeted Financial Assistance
The Targeted Financial Assistance program is intended to fill gaps in the Niagara Mohawk energy discount programs by providing energy price reductions to business customers that have significant growth opportunities and severe competitive challenges.
Program Description for Targeted Financial Incentives
Program Evaluation Form for Targeted Financial Incentives
Program Application

Gas Pricing Discounts
Niagara Mohawk, like all utilities, purchases natural gas in a competitive national market where prices rise and fall depending on market conditions. The prices Niagara Mohawk pays to purchase gas for customers are passed through to those customers dollar for dollar. In other words, Niagara M ohawk does not mark up those prices or make a profit from them.
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New York State Power Authority
The New York Power Authority, is America's largest state-owned public power enterprise. They provide some of the lowest-cost electricity in New York State, operating 17 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines.

Power For Jobs
Power for Jobs is designed to assist New York State businesses that are at risk of closing or downsizing their operations or moving out of the State or businesses that anticipate expanding operations, increasing electrical usage and creating new jobs may also qualify. In addition, Power for Jobs is available for not-for-profit corporations, such as hospitals, that provide a significant service or critical benefit to the local community.

NYPA Hydropower
The Power Authority sells large amounts of electricity generated at its Niagara Power Project to Western New York businesses. This hydropower is classified as either replacement power or expansion power, and is delivered through an arrangement with the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation. Customers of this program must be located within 30 miles of the Niagara project (generally in Niagara and Erie Counties) or in Chautauqua County.

To qualify for Niagara hydropower, a company must have a minimum of 250 kw of new or additional electrical demand after completion of a new facility or an expansion of an existing one. The ratio of jobs to the amount of power allocated is typically about 10 jobs per mw.