National Grid, Department of Public Service Staff, IBEW Local97, commercial and industrial customers, the New York Power Authority, and other parties have reached a three-year rate agreement for the company’s upstate New York electric and gas businesses that minimizes bill impacts, enhances energy affordability programs, targets key infrastructure investments to promote a cleaner, more resilient energy delivery system, and advances New York’s renewable energy and emissions reductions goals. The joint proposal, reached after 11 months of negotiation, was submitted today to the New York Public Service Commission for review.

“Our three-year agreement reflects the input of a broad range of stakeholders and is an important step forward in advancing New York’s clean energy future. It maintains a focus on managing customer affordability in response to the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, while funding programs that will modernize our energy networks and promote economic growth in the state,” said National Grid’s New York President Rudy Wynter.

“We worked hard to strike a balance between prioritizing customer energy affordability and ensuring resiliency – especially in light of the record number of damaging storms we’ve seen in upstate New York – while deferring other programs and initiatives that would add to our customers’ bills,” Wynter said.  He noted that, as part of the agreement, National Grid has committed to delivering a portfolio of programs that focus on energy efficiency, heating alternatives, and new technologies to help customers manage their energy use across the company’s 25,000-square-mile upstate New York service area.

Customer benefits included in the joint proposal include:

• Enhanced energy affordability programs and services.
• Historic investment in energy efficiency and demand response programs to help customers manage their energy use and bills, and deliver on New York’s and National Grid's clean energy goals.
• Significant increases in additional clean energy solutions, including transmissions investments to unlock renewable energy, new non-pipes and non-wires alternatives, programs to promote heat pump and geothermal solutions, and initiatives and investments to support the deployment of electric vehicles.
• Continued deployment of economic development programs that support the upstate New York economy.
• $3.3 billion in capital investments to improve the safety, resiliency and reliability of National Grid’s energy networks that serve more than 1.6 million customers.

“The proposal will allow us to invest in programs necessary to maintain the safety and reliability of our networks and implement new initiatives to accelerate the transition to a cleaner energy future in support of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goals.” Wynter said.

National Grid’s previous gas and electricity rate plans expired March 30, 2021. A proposal for new delivery rates was originally due in April 2020 but, given the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company decided to delay that filing until June 30, 2020, and used that time to refine and reduce the amount of the request. 

If approved, the three-year proposal would take effect Jan. 1, 2022. Under the terms of the agreement, average residential electricity customers who use 600 kwh a month would see a $1.88 monthly bill increase in the first year, $1.88 in year two and $2.23 in year three.  Average residential gas bills for customers who use 82 therms a month would increase $1.51 per month in the first year, $2.37 in year two and $2.56 in year three. The New York Public Service Commission is expected to decide on the proposal later this year.

About National Grid

About National Grid: National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. National Grid is transforming our electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information, please visit our website, follow us on Twitter, watch us on YouTube, friend us on Facebook, and find our photos on Instagram.