Eversource on Wednesday filed with the state Department of Public Utilities a proposed 16 percent hike in its electricity supply prices for western Massachusetts for the six-month period beginning Jan. 1.
The pass-through energy charge, applied to customers who are signed up for the company’s Basic Service supply rate — apart from the 27 percent increase that electric customers will see if the DPU approves the pending Eversource rate case sought by the utility last January — would total 10.641 cents per kilowatt-hour, slightly more than a penny and a half more than last winter’s rate of 9.126 cents.
The basic service supply charge, a direct pass-through cost for the price of power generation, is based on the lowest available bid price from generation companies, according to spokesman Priscilla Ress.
The higher cost for electricity, expected to be about $6 a month for a typical residential 550-kilowatt customer, is due to the increased price of natural gas for electric generators during winter months which Eversource says is “a direct reflection of the energy price volatility we continue to see in New England and more proof of the need for new energy infrastructure like gas pipeline capacity in the region.”
Natural gas provides abut one third of the basic supply generation in western Massachusetts.
Under state law, Eversource as a regulated energy distribution company, purchases power from wholesale suppliers and passes the cost on, changing prices twice a year. Customers have the option of buying power through the company or another supplier, although about 80 percent choose the basic supply rate in western Massachusetts.
The current June-thorough-January supply rate is 8.563 cents per kilowatt hour.
The pending Eversource rate hike, if approved, would hike monthly bills for a typical non-heating residential customer using 543 kilowatthours of electricity an additional $9.78, or 8.6 percent effective Jan. 1. It would increase by $1.54 more, or or 1.2 percent a year later.
Eversource offers low-cost and no-cost energy efficiency programs, including a free energy audit, to help customers cut power usage and save money. Customers can also take advantage of energy efficiency incentives and inquire whether they may be eligible for assistance in reducing their costs and in paying their electricity bill.