NSTAR Proposes Lowest Electricity Supply Price Since 2005
Six Percent Drop in Rate Will Benefit About 800,000 Customers
May 2, 2011
Beginning in July, NSTAR’s residential customers can expect to be paying the lowest electricity supply prices in six years. The new rate will be six percent less than the one currently in effect and will save NSTAR's average residential customer about $2.30 a month. If approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, the new rate would be in effect through the end of this year.
“As prices for other fuels continue to skyrocket, we’re thrilled to announce a modest cut in our electricity prices,” said Tom May, NSTAR Chairman, President and CEO. “The drop is largely due to the abundant supply of natural gas, which is the fuel used most to generate electricity in our region.”
Though delivery charges vary slightly by region, the Basic Service supply price for all NSTAR residential customers will drop by six percent, from 7.718 cents to 7.254 cents per kilowatt-hour beginning in July. Customers of the former Boston Edison Company using an average of 500 kilowatt-hours per month will see their total bill drop from $85.84 to $83.52. The average 500 kilowatt-hour bill for customers of the former Cambridge Electric Company will fall from $78.28 to $75.96. For those in the former Commonwealth Electric territory, the average bill will decrease from $90.36 to $88.04.
As a regulated distribution company, NSTAR purchases electricity from suppliers and passes the cost directly to customers who are on the company’s Basic Service supply rate, with no profit to NSTAR. Customers who purchase electricity through aggregate buyers or directly from suppliers are not affected by this price reduction. By law, the Basic Service price for residential customers changes twice a year, on January 1 and July 1.
NSTAR is the largest Massachusetts-based, investor-owned electric and gas utility. The company transmits and delivers electricity and natural gas to 1.4 million customers in Eastern and Central Massachusetts, including more than one million electric customers in 81 communities and 300,000 gas customers in 51 communities.
