Does your electricity provider charge a fee for buying power from another supplier?

I am trying to make sense of the electricity billing in New York State. (Supposedly) We can buy our electricity from other suppliers who (supposedly) have lower rates. This (supposedly) increases competition and helps the consumer. BUT, the last time we compared bills, the service provider, Rochester Gas and Electric added a “Retail Access Surcharge” to our bill if we bought electricity from another company, called an ESCO, Energy Services Company. That was buried in the bill in the fine print. Tricky.
I see that the Retail Access Surcharge ended in 2010 (supposedly). Did they just hide it elsewhere in the bill? How can anyone make sense of this? I consider myself a semi-intelligent, technically savvy, adult and I can’t figure it out.