HYANNIS – Cape and Islands residents should see a drop in electric bills beginning this summer.
Eversource has filed a proposed electricity supply rate with the Department of Public Utilities for residential customers which is nearly 12 percent lower than its current rate. The proposed rate is 11.397 cents per kilowatt-hour.
The Cape Light Compact’s green aggregation power supply program residential rates have also dropped 17 percent down to 10.6 cents per kilowatt-hour.
The six-month rates take effect for June meter readings for Cape Light Compact customers and July 1 for Eversource.
The proposed Eversource rate would save the average household, with 550 kilowatt-hours of electricity use, $8.20 per month. Compact customer bills would see an average drop of $4.65 per month, for 584 kilowatt-hours.
“This is good news that we are going to be seeing lower priced electricity,” said Priscilla Ress, an Eversource Spokeswoman. “Especially during those hot months where people rely on air conditioning and really like to crank it up after a hard day’s work.”
Eversource secured the lower six-month price for customers thanks to a reduction in wholesale power prices.
The utility purchases electricity from suppliers and passes on the cost directly to consumers on the company’s Basic Service supply option.
Customers also have the option to purchase electricity from competitive suppliers.
The Compact’s green aggregation power supply program supports renewable resources by matching all customers’ electricity usage with renewable energy certificates, by purchasing RECs from New England-based projects above Massachusetts state requirements and by helping to finance new renewable energy projects directly.
The commercial supply rate from the Cape Light Compact will be down from 12.7 to 11.075 cents per kilowatt-hour. Industrial rates will be up from 9.065 to 10.274 cents.
“Also what we want to stress is while the rates came down, the best way to save on your electric bill is through energy efficiency,” Ress said.
Ress recommends using programmable thermostats, keeping refrigerator and freezer doors closed and filling unused refrigerator spaces with jugs of water. Other money saving tips are keeping appliances clean, especially air conditioner coils, and pulling down shades and curtains.
“You’d be surprised how much of an effect that does have on how cool that room is going to be,” Ress said.
For energy efficiency tips and information about the many programs available to help lower energy use, Eversource customers can visit the Save Money & Energy section of Eversource.com.
“I think the best tip of all is, if you haven’t had it done, get that home energy assessment,” Ress said. “An expert will come in and they will go through your house top to bottom and see how efficiently appliances are running, they’ll see if there are places where you are actually losing that cold air through gaps that need to be sealed or if that hot air from outside is able to seep in.”
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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