Electric Rate Hike for Winter: National Grid files Basic Service Rates with Mass. DPU
September 21, 2015
Last Tuesday, National Grid filed residential rates with the Massachusetts’ Department of Public Utilities, boosting the average monthly electric bill for the New England region. The rate hike is set to begin in November and it will roughly reflect a 20% increase. The average bill will rise from $90 to $110 per month. Despite this rise in electricity prices, National Grid customers can find comfort in the fact that electricity prices this year will not be as high as they were last winter.
Marcy Reed (the Massachusetts president of National Grid), assuaged fears by saying “This winter customers’ bills will be down, absolutely down. You can bank on that.” National Grid has estimated that the average monthly bill this winter will be 10% less than last year’s average of $121.
New England’s wholesale power markets have proven to be quite volatile in the past few years. This is due largely to the uncertainty of natural gas supply, which is used to generate more than half of the electricity in Massachusetts. To protect themselves from this, power generators file for higher prices in order to maintain their profit margins. Last winter, National Grid’s rates went up 40% while Eversource’s prices rose 30% (Eversource will be filing their rates this week).
To see National Grid’s actually filing with the Massachusetts’ Department of Public Utilities – click here.
