National Grid Upstate New York for Cannabis Facilities: SC-2, SC-3, SC-3A, and ESCO Supply

Service area and NYISO zones

Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, doing business as National Grid, is the largest upstate utility. Its territory runs from Buffalo through Syracuse and Utica to Albany, the Mohawk Valley, and the North Country. In NYISO terms that is Zones A through F, where wholesale energy and installed capacity prices are far below the downstate localities [nyiso-markets]. For a cannabis facility that is the single biggest structural advantage of an upstate site: the supply and capacity portion of the bill is built from cheaper zonal inputs than anything in Con Edison or Central Hudson territory.

The electric tariff is PSC No. 220. National Grid's business service-rates page publishes the class descriptions and current charges, with adjustment mechanisms (RAM, CESS, CESD, VDER, and others) carried on separate monthly rate statements [ngrid-upstate-service-rates].

The commercial delivery classes

Class	Who	Charges on the service-rates page opened September 11, 2026
SC-2 Non-Demand	Commercial or industrial customers whose monthly measured demand is under 100 kW and who have used under 2,000 kWh in each of four consecutive months	$25.00 customer charge; 11.345 cents/kWh delivery; no demand charge [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]
SC-2 Demand	Same class, but use has exceeded 2,000 kWh a month for four consecutive months; demand-metered, under 100 kW	$65.00 customer charge; $18.93/kW delivery demand charge; per-kWh energy charges on the rate statement [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]
SC-3 Large General	Monthly measured demand exceeds 100 kW in each of the previous twelve consecutive months	Customer charge $870 to $1,600 by voltage; minimum charge covering the first 40 kW; per-kW charge above 40 kW of $4.36 to $15.62 by service voltage [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]
SC-3A Large General TOU	Historical or projected use above 2,000 kW for consecutive months (two to six depending on enrollment)	Customer charge $4,150 to $10,350 by voltage; demand $4.89 to $15.58/kW; Hourly Electric Supply Charge posted daily by 4 p.m. for utility-supply customers [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]

Two triggers determine placement, and they work differently:

• The SC-2 split is a kWh test. Four consecutive months above 2,000 kWh moves an account to demand billing [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. A dispensary, a small lab, and any grow clear that in month one, so plan on SC-2 Demand as the floor.
• The SC-3 threshold is a kW history test. Demand above 100 kW in each of the previous twelve months [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. A facility that dips below 100 kW in one slow month resets the count.

The utility rate classes page explains why these thresholds exist; what matters here is the arithmetic between them.

What the class change is worth to a grow

Assume a grow with a 300 kW billed peak (an assumption, not a fact). On SC-2 Demand the delivery demand charge is 300 x $18.93, about $5,679 a month [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. On SC-3 at the most favorable voltage, the first 40 kW are inside the minimum charge and the remaining 260 kW are billed at $4.36 per kW, about $1,134, plus the class minimum and customer charge [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. At the least favorable SC-3 voltage the 260 kW cost $15.62 each, about $4,061 [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. The customer charge and minimum are higher on SC-3, so the net saving depends on voltage, but the per-kW rate difference is the largest delivery lever an upstate grow has.

The catch is the twelve-month history. A new facility ramping up over its first year may spend that year on SC-2 Demand. Ask National Grid at the service application whether projected load can be used for initial placement, and get the answer in writing. Service voltage is set at the same time; taking primary service and owning the transformer is what moves an account from the $15.62 end of the SC-3 range toward $4.36 [ngrid-upstate-service-rates].

Under either class, the billed kW is the highest interval in the month, so demand charges explained applies: stagger lighting, sequence HVAC starts, and keep the peak from landing on a single 15-minute window.

Default supply and the Merchant Function Charge

Customers who do not choose an ESCO take supply from National Grid at a monthly electric supply charge posted on the Electric Rate Statement; SC-3A customers on utility supply pay the Hourly Electric Supply Charge posted daily [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. The Merchant Function Charge applies only when customers take supply from National Grid [ngrid-upstate-service-rates].

Because the supply charge is market-based and monthly, compare an ESCO offer to a trailing twelve-month average of your supply line, and include the Merchant Function Charge in what leaves the bill when you switch. The switching guide covers the mechanics.

Interconnection and metering notes for a grow

Upstate climate shapes the design. With statewide normals of 6,001 heating degree days and only 618 cooling degree days [noaa-cag-new-york], and the North Country colder than that average, an indoor grow in this territory rejects lighting heat into cold air most of the year. Heat recovery from the HVAC and dehumidification system, which the OCM rule already favors, can displace gas for veg and drying rooms.

OCM requires at least one interval meter at every indoor and mixed-light cultivation site [ny-9nycrr-125-1]. Ask National Grid whether the account's meter records intervals you can download; if not, install a customer-side interval meter at the service entrance so that OCM reporting and ESCO pricing draw on the same data. The interval data page shows what a supplier does with it.

Service capacity is the other early question. A Tier 3 grow needs several hundred kW; a Tier 4 or 5 can approach the 2,000 kW SC-3A line [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. Rural substations in the North Country and Mohawk Valley may need upgrades that take longer than the buildout, so get a load letter and a timeline before signing a lease.

Efficiency and demand response programs

National Grid's upstate business programs include a Large Business program offering rebates and custom incentives for facility upgrades and new equipment, an Agriculture program with incentives and grants for equipment upgrades and facility expansions, and demand response programs that pay customers to curtail load [ngrid-upstate-ee]. A grow is an agricultural operation for many program purposes and should ask which track applies; a lab with schedulable ovens is a natural demand response participant. The demand response page explains how curtailment payments work and what a grow can and cannot shed.

SC-2 Demand threshold at four months

Accounts exceeding 2,000 kWh a month for four consecutive months move to SC-2 Demand with $18.93/kW delivery demand on the service-rates page opened September 11, 2026 [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. SC-3 applies when demand exceeds 100 kW in each of the previous 12 months [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. Microbusiness and Tier 1-2 cultivators should model when they trip thresholds [ny-9nycrr-120-3].

Upstate climate and heat recovery

Statewide normals are 6,001 heating degree days and 618 cooling degree days [noaa-cag-new-york]. North Country sites exceed those averages for heating [noaa-cag-new-york]. OCM dehumidification rules favor heat recovery systems with 75 percent recovery [ny-9nycrr-125-1]. Agriculture program track may apply for National Grid rebates [ngrid-upstate-ee].

Agriculture program and Large Business rebates

National Grid upstate Agriculture program offers incentives for equipment upgrades and facility expansions [ngrid-upstate-ee]. Large Business custom track covers non-prescriptive measures [ngrid-upstate-ee]. Pre-approval required before ordering DLC fixtures for OCM compliance [ny-9nycrr-125-1] [ngrid-upstate-ee].

Additional procurement and tariff notes

SC-2 Demand at $18.93/kW triggers after four months above 2,000 kWh [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. SC-3 applies above 100 kW in twelve months [ngrid-upstate-service-rates].

Additional load and utility notes

6,001 HDD and 618 CDD upstate favor heat recovery over chillers most of the year [noaa-cag-new-york]. Agriculture and Large Business rebate tracks apply [ngrid-upstate-ee].

Additional load and utility notes

Merchant Function Charge drops when enrolling ESCO on utility supply [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. Compare trailing twelve-month supply average [ny-dps-esco-info].

Rural capacity letters before lease

Obtain substation capacity letters before signing Southern Tier or North Country leases [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. SC-3A at 2,000 kW line requires early load planning [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. Agriculture rebate track may apply to cultivators [ngrid-upstate-ee].

SC-3 demand at 250 kW illustration

Assume 250 kW on SC-3 with utility supply (input). Delivery demand at $18.93/kW on SC-2 Demand threshold context adds material delivery dollars [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. ESCO enrollment removes monthly supply and Merchant Function Charge [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. Compare trailing twelve-month supply average [ny-dps-esco-info].

How ESCO supply interacts with National Grid billing

National Grid (Niagara Mohawk) is one of the six investor-owned utilities open to PSC-eligible ESCOs [ny-dps-esco-info]. On every commercial class, the service-rates page notes that customers can procure electricity from an alternate supplier or remain with National Grid [ngrid-upstate-service-rates]. When you enroll with an ESCO:

• Delivery charges, including the SC-2 Demand or SC-3 per-kW charges, are unchanged.
• The monthly electric supply charge and the Merchant Function Charge come off [ngrid-upstate-service-rates].
• The ESCO's charge goes on, either on the National Grid bill under consolidated billing or on a separate ESCO bill [ny-dps-esco-info].
• Capacity for Zones A through F is priced by the ESCO under the contract, fixed or passed through [nyiso-markets].

For the whole-state picture, see the New York hub and the rate page; for what a grow's load looks like on these classes, the cultivation page.