A customer charge (also called a service charge or facility charge) is a fixed monthly charge that is applied to each utility account. This charge is typically in addition to other charges such as energy charges and, in some cases, demand charges. The customer charge includes costs specific to servicing a customer such as service connection facilities, metering equipment, meter reading, billing, and customer service. The customer charge often varies by type and/or size of customer.
Here is an example of customer charges for an electric utility:
| $ per month | |
| Residential | 5.60 |
| Small commercial | 10.68 |
| Large commercial | 41.13 |
| Industrial | 432.31 |