Eversource announced today that electricity prices are going to be 24 percent lower than last winter. The company’s standard service supply rate of 9.56 cents per kilowatt-hour will go into effect on Jan. 1.
The state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority approved the new rates. Eversource said it will pass the lower rate directly to consumers for the price of generating power.
There’s a cautious note from Eversource to the rate reduction. It said in an announcement that there are still “significant constraints” on natural gas supplies that affect the price of electricity. “New England continues to experience higher energy prices compared to most other areas of the country,” said Penni Conner, senior vice president at Eversource Energy. “Until new energy infrastructure is in place to relieve constraints and to lessen the region’s reliance on natural gas, we can expect to experience these price swings.”
In July of this year, the standard service supply charge dropped to 8.23 cents per kilowatt-hour from 12.63 cents last winter, due in large part to the fact that demand for natural gas is not as high during summer and fall months as it is in the colder months, Eversource said.
More than half of New England’s electricity is now produced using natural gas. Eversource said most energy suppliers are facing higher costs due to constraints on the regional natural gas pipelines and growing dependency on gas to produce electricity.
