How Your Utility Bill Is Calculated: A Simple Customer Guide

11/03/2026

We understand the feeling: getting your utility bill in your inbox or mailbox, taking a quick look, and being a bit unsure about what each part means. Utility bills can include a lot of information, from monthly charges to important account details. We’re here to help you make sense of it all and feel more confident about your natural gas bill, so you can better manage your home or business’s energy usage.

Your Bill at a Glance

Your bill consists of three main categories of charges:

• Delivery and Service Charges
• Supply Charges
• Tax and Other Charges

Some of these charges are based on how much natural gas you use during the billing cycle, while others are fixed charges that stay the same regardless of your consumption. The usage-based charges are calculated using your total consumption, measured in therms.

Let’s take a closer look at each category.

Delivery and Service Charges

These cover the costs of bringing natural gas to your home or business. Between infrastructure maintenance, customer service, and our daily operations, our dedicated team works 24/7 to ensure you have dependable energy and the support you need. You’ll see two types of charges on your bill:

• Service and Facility Charge: Fixed amount charged each billing cycle for all active accounts based on customer class
• Distribution Charge: Volumetric charge applied to your gas usage during the billing cycle

Our costs are all filed with and approved by our regulators. From time to time, you might also see additional approved line items.

Supply Charges

These include the cost of natural gas itself. The Commodity Charge, or Supply Charge, covers what we pay our suppliers, plus delivery and adjustment costs. The Maine Public Utilities Commission requires us to update this charge monthly so that your bill reflects current market pricing—which can fluctuate month-to-month—helping keep things accurate and transparent.

We refer to the Commodity Charge as a “pass-through” cost because we add no markup and make no profit on this charge. To keep things fair for all customers, you pay what we pay, based on your gas usage.

See Current Rates

Tax and Other Charges

Depending on your location, taxes or fees may be collected to comply with local, city, county, and state regulations.

Total Amount Due

We add the totals from these three categories to calculate your “Current Statement Charges.” Finally, if you are carrying a balance from a previous billing cycle, have a late fee, or have a previous payment or credit, we apply these to arrive at your “Total Amount Due.”

Billing Support Made Easy

Looking for resources to make billing easier and more predictable? We’ve got you covered. From Budget Billing to AutoPay, we have programs and services designed to meet your needs. Sign in to your online account or reach out to our Customer Service Team to get started.

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