National Grid proposing reduction in natural gas rates

NATIONAL GRID IS proposing a reduction in natural gas rates. The R.I. Public Utilities Commission will hold a hearing Oct. 23 on the proposal.
NATIONAL GRID IS proposing a reduction in natural gas rates. The R.I. Public Utilities Commission will hold a hearing Oct. 23 on the proposal.

PROVIDENCE – National Grid is proposing to reduce natural gas rates starting Nov. 1 with R.I. Public Utilities Commission permission, according to a press release from the company.
The commission will hold a hearing on the request on Oct. 23 at 9:30 a.m. in its Warwick office.
Proposed rates will be reduced by an average of 8 percent compared with current rates. For the average residential heating customer using 846 therms during a 12-month period, this means an annual savings of $106.55 as total charges go from the current $1,309.75 to $1,203.21.
“This is obviously good news for our Rhode Island natural gas customers,” Timothy F. Horan, president of National Grid in Rhode Island, said in a statement. “More and more Rhode Islanders have opted to switch to natural gas as a cleaner and more efficient source of energy. This rate reduction is one more benefit for them.”
Rhode Island natural gas rates are set on Nov. 1, typically for a 12-month period. Most supplies of natural gas are secured at different times during the year.
Primary drivers for the rate reduction are lower cost of the gas purchased and a credit to be provided to customers as a result of last year’s colder weather. Today’s current gas rates reflect an increase implemented on April 1 as a result of higher gas costs than originally estimated. Natural gas rates expected to take effect on Nov. 1 this year will be, on average, 3.2 percent lower than rates that went into effect in November 2013.
In mid-November, the company plans to file proposed electric rates that will take effect on Jan. 1, and an increase is expected due to the anticipated increase in the cost of electricity charged by wholesale suppliers in the coming months.
The increase is the result of constraints in the natural gas transmission system feeding the region. While these constraints have little or no impact on residential and commercial natural gas customers, the opposite is true for electric generation.
“Approximately 50 percent of the electric supply used in New England is generated by burning natural gas. On the coldest winter days, the system can only provide adequate supplies for residential and commercial gas customers. When pipeline constraints limit supply, the generating facilities must switch to more costly fuels or purchase natural gas on the expensive spot market, driving up generating costs, and ultimately, the price of electricity,” the press release stated.

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