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How Will I Be Billed?
 
Whether you choose to buy power from NOVEC, your current supplier, or from a Competitive Service Provider (CSP), your electric bill will look different. In a competitive retail energy supply market, the generation of electricity by CSPs will not be subject to rate regulation by the government. The rate you pay will be determined by the electricity supplier you choose. A contract may or may not be required. That rate will be shown seperately on your bill. Delivery of your electricity by NOVEC will remain fully regulated by the government at rates set by federal and state regulators. Your bill will show that regulated rate as a separate line item.

If you buy power from a CSP, rather than from NOVEC, you will be required to pay a "competitive transition" or "wires charge." This charge, allowed by the General Assembly and determined by the State Corporation Commission, assures that current electric companies are not financially harmed in the move to a competitive market. These companies were required to build power plants to serve all customers. In a competitive market, those customers may choose to buy power from another source. The "competitive transition" or "wires charge" is scheduled to end in 2007.

A competitive energy supply market also requires a change in the way utility services are taxed. Previously, Virginia's electric companies were taxed on gross receipts rather than net income. Now state taxes on electric service are based on a combined corporate income tax on utility companies and a consumption tax on consumers. The tax is determined by the amount of electricity you use each month. Your monthly electric bill shows the charge as a line item on the bill identified as the state consumption tax. There also may be a local consumption tax. These are not new taxes. Just a new method for collecting the state and local taxes on utility services that you have always paid.