ALBANY - New York electric bills will be slightly higher starting in November.

Utility regulators on Wednesday started a new program aimed at reducing energy consumption in the state and ordered power companies to collect the money to pay for it from their customers.

Some of the ideas the Public Service Commission is looking at include financial incentives to builders to adhere to higher energy efficiency standards and incentives to retailers for selling energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Electric bills on average will go up between 16 cents and 30 cents a month as the utilities raise $172 million to pay for the state-mandated efficiency programs. The charges will show up in the “system benefits charge” section of bills.