National Grid Petition
On May 15, 2009, Massachusetts Electric Company (MECo) and Nantucket Electric Company (Nantucket), together doing business as National Grid, filed a petition with the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) for an $111,289,705 increase in rates, which represents an increase of approximately 17.5 percent over the Company’s annual distribution revenues. National Grid has also proposed a rate mechanism that decouples its revenues from its sales and which the Company states is intended to eliminate financial barriers that may stand in the way of pursuing aggressive energy efficiency measures. National Grid is also seeking approval, among other requests, to transfer recovery for costs associated with its obligations to provide employee pension and post retirement benefits other than pensions from distribution rates to a separate tariff that allows these costs to be reconciled each year.
The effective date of the proposed rate increase has been suspended until December 1, 2009, pending DPU and AGO review. The new rates established in this proceeding will be for electricity consumed on or after January 1, 2010.
A copy of the National Grid petition is available for review on the DPU website (visit the File Room page and search for Docket Number 09-39). A copy of the petition is also available for inspection during regular business hours at the National Grid offices (40 Sylvan Road, Waltham; and One South Station, 2nd Floor, Boston). For further information regarding the petition, please contact counsel for National Grid:
Attorney Steven V. Camarino
McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, P.A.
11 South Main Street, Suite 500
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: (603) 230-4400
What Does this Mean for Customers?
If the Company’s petition is approved as requested, a typical MECo residential customer using 500 kilowatt hours per month will experience a monthly bill increase of $4.25, or 5.5 percent, and a typical MECo low-income customer will experience a monthly bill increase of $3.70, or 6.4 percent. A typical Nantucket residential customer using 500 kilowatt hours per month could experience a monthly bill increase of $4.25, or 4.9 percent, and a typical Nantucket low-income customer will experience a monthly bill increase of $1.50, or 2.3 percent.
Bill impacts for commercial and industrial customers will vary and could be as high as 5.7 percent for MECo customers and as high as 3.7 percent for Nantucket customers depending on usage. For the first time the Company is proposing inclining block rates to promote energy conservation, which results in larger percent bill increases for high usage customers. Individual customers may contact the Company as shown below for specific bill impact information.