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Rhode Island Energy cites cold winter, regional gas limits and public-policy charges for spike in bills; supply rates set 17% lower for summer
Summary
Rhode Island Energy officials told the Westerly council higher winter bills were driven by a very cold season, constrained regional natural-gas infrastructure and public-policy costs embedded in bills; the utility said electric supply rates approved for April 1 are about 17% lower for the coming summer.
Rhode Island Energy representatives briefed the Westerly Town Council on April 7 about recent energy-billing trends, the drivers of higher winter bills and steps customers can take to manage costs.
Nicholas Succi, director of government affairs, said the company secured new electric supply rates approved April 1 that will be roughly 17% lower for the coming summer for customers who take supply from Rhode Island Energy. Succi emphasized usage differences: the presentation examples used a 500 kilowatt-hour (kWh) per month residential customer but many households use far more.
Paul Stasiak, a long-time company employee and Westerly resident, described the primary drivers for the region’s winter price spikes: an unusually cold winter that increased heating demand, New England’s limited natural-gas pipeline capacity and global commodity pressures for liquefied natural gas (LNG). “We actually have the coldest winter we’ve seen in the past decade,” Stasiak said, explaining that New England’s constrained gas infrastructure forces the region to compete for fuel and in some instances to rely on LNG cargoes whose prices are set in global markets.
Company officials also highlighted that state public-policy charges (renewable energy programs, energy-efficiency charges and a LIHEAP enhancement) represented roughly 21% of a typical residential bill last winter, alongside wholesale supply costs and delivery charges. The presenters urged residents to enroll in energy-efficiency audits and budget-billing programs and to read supplier contracts carefully; if third-party supply rates are chosen, customers can switch back to Rhode Island Energy at no charge.
Company staff remained available after the presentation for one-on-one customer service issues; officials said they would work with residents who reported missing bills in the new billing platform. The council and company discussed potential longer-term tools such as competitive power purchases from existing nuclear plants in New England; Rhode Island Energy said such procurements would require enabling state legislation but could be a tool to secure stable supply if terms benefit customers.
