New rates reflect continued price stability

Waltham, Mass. – The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission has approved National Grid’s proposal to adjust electricity rates for its New Hampshire customers. The new rates will take effect on November 1 and continue through April 30, 2010.

The total monthly bill of a typical residential electricity customer in New Hampshire using 500 kWh of electricity will increase by $1.94; from $64.01 to $65.95 or three percent. The increase is directly attributable to the increase in the cost of electricity. New Hampshire residents are currently paying 6.89 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for electricity. The new rate will be 7.28 cents per kWh.

“Although there’s been a slight increase in electricity costs in the past few months, the new commodity rate will be nearly 30 percent less than during the same period last year.” said David A. Falkowski, National Grid’s senior vice president of U.S. Regulation & Pricing. “We’re very happy to be able to pass these rates on to our customers.”

Commodity rates reflect the price National Grid pays for the electricity it purchases from the low bidder in a regularly scheduled competitive bidding process every six months for residential and small commercial and industrial customers, and every three months from large commercial and industrial customers. The process follows regulatory guidelines put in place to ensure that National Grid secures the lowest price possible for electricity supply. National Grid does not make a profit on the commodity cost of electricity which it purchases for its customers.

While National Grid doesn’t control the cost of electricity, it does make every effort to assist customers in achieving greater savings and benefiting the environment through energy efficiency programs and services and by educating them on how they can use less energy through conservation. To help customers create even greater savings for themselves and to benefit the environment, National Grid is urging people to pledge to use three percent less energy every year for the next ten years through its Three Percent Less Energy Pledge campaign. Customers can learn more about National Grid’s programs at www.powerofaction.com.

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. 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 (LIPA). It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers.