They are huge, complicated regulatory proceedings that last about 10 months and only happen once or twice a decade - National Grid’s last electric rate case was in 2018. Rate cases are the formal process by which the state determines how utilities can recover costs from customers. National Grid proposed these changes as part of the electric rate case it filed this week with the state’s Department of Public Utilities. 1, 2024.Ĭharlie Harak, a senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center who specializes in energy and utility issues in Massachusetts, said tiered discounts “better target deeper assistance to those most in need,” and that implementing this proposal would be “an improvement” over the current flat rate.Ī handful of other states, including Connecticut and New Hampshire, offer multi-tiered electric discount rates. If approved, the new rates would go into effect on Oct. While the change wouldn't technically cap a household's energy bills at 6% of its income, the company predicts that will be the net effect for most low-income customers. Barde said that even with the existing discount rate, some National Grid customers spend about 20% of their income on energy. And it he said it should go a long way to reducing the "energy burden" many in the state currently face.Ī household is considered " energy burdened" if it spends more than 6% of its monthly income on utility bills. Instead of offering a flat 32% discount to qualifying customers, the company wants to implement a tiered structure that would offer up to a 55% discount on bills each month.īarde called the proposal “more equitable” and “more responsive” to what customers actually need. This week, National Grid proposed a substantial overhaul of its discount rate structure. “You still see large numbers of customers at the lower end of the income distribution for whom that level of assistance isn’t adequate to keep their energy burden to a manageable level,” he said. It’s a generous discount by national standards, but it’s often not enough, said Karsten Barde, director of policy and strategy for National Grid. To help to make energy more affordable, utilities offer “discounted rates” for low-income residents, which cover roughly a third of a customer's total electric bill. Massachusetts has some of the highest electric rates in the country, and every year, many residents struggle to pay their utility bills.
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