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Reminder – New Law Effective Date is June 17th
SCO Side-by-side Bill Comparison Against Utility Default Service Prices
As reported on December 19, 2025 New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation S3876/A09438 that requires the Energy Service Company (ESCO) to include on the first page of the customer’s bill a “side-by-side” comparison showing the supply rate charged by the ESCO compared against the default service price that would have applied during same billing period.
Effective Date: June 17, 2026. Specifically law states that “this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before such date.”
As noted above the new law requires ESCOs to provide a side-by-side price comparison on customer bills beginning June 2026.
As background the original bill was introduced on January 30, 2025, entitled “An act to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring comparison of prices charged by ESCOs.”
Specifically, this new law amends section 349-d of New York’s general business law that defines “customer” as, “any person who is sold or offered an energy services contract by an ESCO (i) for residential utility service, or (ii) through door-to-door sales”.
This new law -among other things- requires ESCOs to provide side-by-side price comparisons on the first page of the customers’ billing statements. The comparisons would reflect the price (billed amount) the ESCO charged during the previous billing period and the price the customer would have paid if they had received service from their local utility or municipality.
Furthermore, ESCOs would be required to provide an itemized list of prices for any energy-related value-added products during the billing period.
Under the new law ESCO must also annually provide each customer a statement comparing the ESCO rate charged over the prior 12 months compared against the default service price that would have applied over the same period.
More specifically, the annual comparison, “shall convey such information in a manner that unambiguously conveys whether the customer is saving money or paying a premium for service from the ESCO over such period.”
Important Aspects of New Law
Scope: The law applies to both electricity and natural gas, including utility consolidated billing.
Effective Date: June 17, 2026.
Customer Definition – S3876 adopts such requirements through amendments to section 349-d of New York’s general business law, which defines “customer” as, “any person who is sold or offered an energy services contract by an ESCO (i) for residential utility service, or (ii) through door-to-door sales”.
Side-by-Side Comparison: ESCOs must display a comparison on the first page of the bill, showing the price charged by the ESCO against what the customer would have paid under the local utility’s default rate.
Comparison of Energy-Related Value-Added Products Provided by ESCO – This comparison shall additionally and separately include an itemized list of prices charged by the ESCO for any energy-related value-added products provided by the ESCO.
Annual Comparison: A 12-month summary must be provided, clearly indicating if the customer saved money or paid a premium compared to the standard utility. Therefore, very 12 months, an ESCO must provide to a customer a statement comparing the ESCO “price” charged over the prior 12 months, and the default service price that would have applied over such period.
This annual comparison, “shall convey such information in a manner that unambiguously conveys whether the customer is saving money or paying a premium for service from the ESCO over such period,”
Costs: Costs associated with this mandatory comparison are borne by the ESCO, not the customer.
Compliance Challenges – The new law will likely require adjustments to EDI billing platforms because ESCOs must provide these side-by-side comparisons even if using utility-consolidated.
