Who pays for the line

In New York, the rule is in the state's regulations at 16 NYCRR 98.2. A utility builds an extension on a written request, and the applicant pays for the part beyond what the utility provides at no charge. For a non-residential applicant, the rule's overhead allowance is 500 feet for single-phase service and 300 feet for three-phase. The rule also covers right-of-way and security, and it contains no refund text. The copy read was a Justia reproduction current through June 25, 2025, so the official text should be checked.

What each utility says

• National Grid's process document says system modifications can be considerable and, in many situations, are chargeable to the customer. It gives no formula.
• Central Hudson says off-site contributions may be partly refundable, with no amounts published.
• United Illuminating says an extension may require an advance payment, a minimum annual guarantee or a deposit.
• Con Edison states that its cost estimate follows engineering review and must be accepted before work begins. The amounts are specific to the project.

The New York pages describe who pays without saying how much. Maine's schedule, below, shows what a published number looks like.

Central Maine Power's published numbers

CMP's terms and conditions publish a schedule. For work initiated between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027, the single-phase extension charge is $40.96 per foot overhead and $31.52 per foot underground. For polyphase service, the customer reimburses the full construction cost, including the feasibility study. A 15.0 percent contribution-in-aid-of-construction tax adder applies. When a later customer connects to a line a previous customer paid for, the terms provide for reallocating cost over 20 years.

CMP's terms also tie cost to the utility's own plans. Under its tariff, a customer owes nothing for a betterment if the utility would have made the upgrade within two years anyway, and the share owed rises through year five. The nearer the upgrade is on the utility's schedule, the less the customer pays. This was read as published, and timing and amounts should be confirmed with CMP.

That makes at least three separate items for one request: the construction, the tax on the contribution, and a possible partial refund if other customers later use the line. A New York reader should look for the same items in their own utility's tariff. This set of pages did not locate the state's contribution rule in PSC Electric Tariff 220.

Why the question comes early

The first utility answer sets the engineering scope. The scope sets the cost, and the cost reaches the applicant before the utility is committed to build. Utility incentive programs, covered in a separate essay, sometimes offset these costs. They carry their own timing rules, and one requires a written request before the project is announced.

Pages read October 22, 2026.