Think your National Grid bills in NY have been awful this winter? They’ll get worse

Syracuse, N.Y. — The average Upstate household with gas and electric service is expected to get a National Grid bill of more than $360 for the month of February, thanks to soaring energy costs driven by frigid weather.

Bills from November through January were already bad. February will be worse.

Residential customers are expected to pay about $75 more on average — an increase of 26% — compared with their electric and gas bills from February 2025. If the weather remains super-cold for most of the month, the bills could go even higher because of increased usage.

The hefty February bill, which will arrive at most households in March, comes on the heels of bills for November through January that have already cost an average residential customer $120 more than last winter.

The leading cause of higher bills for February is rising wholesale prices for electricity and gas, which are soaring because of high demand during this frosty winter. Not only is natural gas the primary heating fuel in New York, but it is also the main driver of electricity prices in the spot market.

The result: National Grid will charge about 70 cents per therm for natural gas supply in February (not counting delivery charges). That’s up roughly 45% from a year ago.

Electric supply will cost households about 12 cents per kilowatt-hour in February, an increase of 29% from February 2025.

And don’t forget National Grid’s recent rate hike.

The state-approved increases in National Grid’s delivery rates, the first round of which took effect in September, also factor into the higher February bills. The state Public Service Commission approved a schedule of higher rates that will increase delivery charges about 31% for electricity and 40% for natural gas, phased in over three years.

According to National Grid, household natural gas bills will be about $52 higher this February than a year ago. Most of the increase comes from higher supply prices (which the utility passes on to customers without a profit), but $13.50 of the increase is due to delivery charges (which include company profits).

Average households can expect an increase of $23 on their electric bill compared with February 2025, about $16 of which is the supply charge and $7 of which is due to higher delivery charges.

All told, including delivery charges, expect to pay about 25 cents per KWh for electricity and $1.20 per therm for gas in February. For a typical household using 600 KWh and 180 therms, that yields a monthly bill of about $367.

Staff writer Tim Knauss can be reached by email or phone 315-470-3023.