By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

BURRILLVILLE — The Pascoag Utility District has asked the state Public Utilities Commission to approve a proposal to raise electric rates by 8 percent, a move that would increase a Pascoag Electric residential customer’s monthly bill by $5.78 effective Jan. 1.

Pascoag Utility District General Manager Theodore G. Garille is slated to meet with PUC officials next week to discuss the proposed rate hike.
A residential customer using 500 kilowatt-hours now pays a monthly bill of approximately $72.69. If the new rates are approved by the PUC, the customer’s bill would be about $78.47, an increase of $5.78 or 8 percent.
Garille attributed the rate increase to higher transmission rates from National Grid, which has increased that charge by 100 percent.
For example, during the period between April and October 2007, the local utility paid $17,300 in transmission charges to purchase power. During that same period this year, the cost was $116,570.
The Pascoag Utility District was incorporated by a special act of the Rhode Island General Assembly. A quasi-municipal utility, Pascoag provides electricity and water on a “not for profit” basis.
Pascoag Electric is regulated by the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission. Currently, the utility provides electric service to over 5,000 customers in Pascoag and Harrisville and 1,200 water customers in Pascoag.
Despite the increase, Pascoag Utility District electric customers still enjoy the lowest rates in the state, Garille said.
Back in June, the utility district had requested and received approval from the PUC to maintain its rates for the rest of 2008. Pascoag Electric’s rates were raised in August 2006 and were not adjusted again until January of this year, when they were raised to 2.2 percent.
That increase addressed higher transmission rates from National Grid and the New York Independent System Operator for transmission of its New York Power Authority Hydro Power allotment.
The district has several long-term power contracts in place, securing over 85 percent of its customers’ needs through the year 2010. Pascoag’s power portfolio includes hydro power (20 percent), nuclear power (20 percent), with the remainder coming from fossil fuel generating stations. The district’s power purchasing contract expires in 2010.
This year, the district established a “purchased power restricted fund” account. This account, dedicated to power expenses, will ensure that the district can meet payments to power suppliers in a timely manner and thus avoid penalties and interest charges, which would have to be passed on to customers.
In a related matter, National Grid is asking the Public Utilities Commission to approve new electric rates for its customers effective Jan. 1. If the request is approved, the cost of electricity will be reduced by approximately 23 percent from current rates that went into effect in July of this year.
The new, lower rate reflects the price National Grid — which does not make any profit in managing the electric supply it purchases on behalf of its customers — pays for the electricity it purchases. The decline in price would reflect the lower cost of natural gas and oil used to generate much of this electricity.
The proposed reduction is in a filing that also includes adjusted charges for delivering electricity to customers, which, if approved, would add slightly more than one-half of one cent per kilowatt hour to the delivery portion of customers’ bills.
The net effect of these proposed changes for a typical National Grid Rhode Island residential electric customer who uses 500 kilowatt hours of electricity each month would be a reduction in the monthly bill from $93.44 to $80.60, which is $12.84 or 13.7 percent.
In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority.