Energy Pricing Programs

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.
  

SC-12 Retention Programs

• Revitalization-This program is designed to retain large manufacturing facilities in danger of closure due to financial distress. In order to qualify for discounts, customers must provide detailed financial information that demonstrates financial distress, identify and implement non-energy cost savings, and develop a comprehensive revitalization plan that will return the company to profitability within the five-year discount period.
  
• Relocation-Open primarily to our larger industrial customers, this program offers discounts to prevent the relocation of manufacturing facilities to areas outside the Niagara Mohawk service territory. In order to qualify, customers must demonstrate that they have an economically viable relocation alternative. And in recognition of the fact that electricity cost by itself is seldom the only factor driving a relocation challenge, the SC-12 discount must be part of a comprehensive competitiveness plan that includes public involvement in the form of state and/or local incentives or concessions.
  
  

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 Mohawk does not mark up those prices or make a profit from them.
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Energy Infrastructure Programs

Capital Investment Incentive
The Capital Investment Incentive program provides grants to fund electric and natural gas improvements on Niagara Mohawk owned or required natural gas and electric infrastructure for certain businesses projects that involve major capital investment in plant and equipment. Specifically this program supports business attraction or expansion projects located in the service territory of Niagara Mohawk, a National Grid company. The projects must demonstrate that they have not been able to secure sufficient funding through federal, state or local economic development programs.
Program Description for Capital Investment Incentives
Program Evaluation Form for Capital Investment Incentives
Program Application

Industrial Building Redevelopment
The Industrial Building Assistance program provides grants of up to $250,000 to building owners undertaking efforts to retrofit the interior electric and gas infrastructure required to convert these buildings to multi-tenant industrial use. The grants will be made through local industrial development agencies or other quasi public development corporations.
Program Description for Industrial Building Redevelopment
Program Evaluation Form for Industrial Building Redevelopment
Program Application

Brownfield Redevelopment
The Brownfield Redevelopment program provides grants to fund utility related infrastructure improvements and other costs that are necessary to progress the redevelopment of a brownfield site or vacant building.
Program Description for Brownfield Redevelopment
Program Evaluation Form for Brownfield Redevelopment
Program Application

Three Phase Power Incentive
The 3-Phase Power Incentive program provides grants of up to $50,000 to help fund the extension of 3-phase electric service to eligible Niagara Mohawk customers.
Program Description for Three Phase Power Incentives
Program Evaluation Form for Three Phase Power Incentives
Program Application

New York State Programs
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