FAQ - Residential Rate Credit for Veterans' Organizations

On August 10, 2018, Governor Murphy signed a bill into law permitting veterans' organizations to receive a residential rate for utility service delivered to the property at which the veterans' organization primarily operates, if the residential rate is lower than the commercial rate for service delivered at that property.

The law applies to "veterans' organizations", which the law defines as "an organization dedicated to serving the needs of veterans of the armed forces" and that also satisfies at least one of the following criteria (not all three): (1) is chartered under federal law, (2) qualifies as a tax exempt organization under paragraph (19) of subsection (c) of section 501 of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C.s.501 (c)(19), or (3) that is organized as a corporation under the "New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation Act," N.J.S.15A:1-1 et seq.

An application for service can be found here. If you do not already have an account with us, please call us at 1-877-434-4100 for assistance.

Please complete the application and email it to Rockland Electric's Customer Support Operations department, or mail it to the following address: Rockland Electric Company, Attention: Customer Support Operations, 390 West Route 59, Spring Valley, NY 10977.

Please make sure to include with your application the document(s) demonstrating your organization's eligibility, as described in the previous question/answer. A representative of Rockland Electric Company will advise you if there are any questions regarding your application and if your application is approved.

Please note – New construction or upgrade of service cases are required to submit the application through the Project Center, along with additional documents associated with the work performed. All other customers can email or mail the application to the address provided.

Assuming that the veterans' organization submits an application with supporting documents and is found eligible to receive the benefit under the criteria set forth above, Rockland Electric Company will apply the benefit retroactive to the first billing cycle that commences after the organization contacted Rockland Electric Company to inquire about the benefit. Rockland Electric Company has been tracking the dates veterans' organizations have contacted the company before an application was available to apply for the benefit.

If Rockland Electric Company approves the application, your veterans' organization's distribution service will be eligible for the benefit under the law beginning with the billing cycle that commences after the company's receipt of the application. At least once annually, Rockland Electric Company will compare the veterans' organization's distribution charges under its residential service rate schedule to determine if they are lower than the applicable commercial rate schedule. If the residential rate schedule charges are lower than the applicable commercial rate schedule charges during the review period, Rockland Electric Company will apply a credit to your organization's bill for distribution service in the amount of the difference between the two schedules.

Yes. The credit applies to both gas and electric service. Contact your gas utility to apply for your gas utility's veterans' organization program. Rockland Electric Company only supplies electric service, and does not supply gas service.

No. The veterans' organization will remain on the applicable commercial rate, and receive a credit for any difference described in the answer to the question "How is the benefit applied?"

No. The veterans' organization will not have to pay the higher residential rate.

No. According to the law, the credit applies only to the distribution service portion of the veterans' organization's utility bill, not the entire bill (for example, commodity or supply charges are not taken into consideration when Rockland Electric Company conducts the comparison).

No. The benefit applies to the veterans' organization's "primary" location, which is only one location.

No. The organization will continue to receive the credit — without submitting any additional documentation — as long as it remains eligible for the credit under the criteria described above.

It is the veterans' organization's responsibility to advise Rockland Electric Company as soon as practicable if the primary use of the location receiving the credit is no longer related to serving veterans' interests. If that is the case, the credit will longer be provided.

Rockland Electric Company may make inspections to determine if the property is the location where the veterans' organization primarily operates.

Please call Rockland Electric Company's Customer Assistance at 1-877-434-4100 for more information.

Information about New Jersey Clean Energy programs can be found at njcleanenergy.com.