March 16, 2012
Rhode Island

National Grid seeks 5.7-percent electricity rate hike in Rhode Island

By Paul Grimaldi, Providence Journal, providencejournal.com 14 March 2012

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – National Grid wants a 5.7-percent rate hike in April to cover rising transmission costs and the increasing expense of renewable energy certificates – documentation that a certain amount of electricity was generated by renewable resources.

If the R.I. Public Utilities Commission approves the rate hike, the average household customer (one who uses 500 kilowatt hours of electricity per month) would see the monthly bill rise $4.23. The typical bill will go from $73.96 to $78.19.

“The majority of these are costs that are out of our control,” said David Graves, a National Grid spokesman.

Many states have laws that require certain amounts of renewable energy be bought by utility companies. The PUC will review the submissions March 27 and March 28.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/03/16/national-grid-seeks-5-7-percent-electricity-rate-hike-in-rhode-island/