Summer power rates to fall 39%

If approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, the monthly bill for a typical residential customer of National Grid will be reduced starting May 1 by about 39%, the utility said.

National Grid announced new summer electric rates yesterday.

The average residential customer uses about 600 kilowatt-hours per month and will see their electric supply price per kilowatt-hour decrease from approximately 34 cents a kilowatt-hour to 14 cents a kilowatt-hour. National Grid said the average electricity bill will drop from $297.22 to $181.83, saving residents an average of $115.39 a month.

The utility said it buys electricity on behalf of its customers from the wholesale power market and passes through those costs without any markup or profit.

Investor-owned utilities in the state change their supply rates — the amount they charge for electricity based on market conditions — twice a year.

Eversource, the region’s other investor-owned utility, is on a different schedule with new rates coming in January and July.

Electricity is generally cheaper in summer when some power plants find fuel at lower prices.

National Grid pointed Thursday to volatile utility markets. National Grid reminded customers that the price per kilowatt-hour will be about 2.6 cents higher this summer than it was last year.

“We are pleased that these new summer rates will help bring down the overall cost of electricity starting in May. We also know our customers pay bills, not rates,” Helen Burt, chief customer officer of National Grid. ”So, as summer heats up and customers use more electricity to cool

“We are pleased that these new summer rates will help bring down the overall cost of electricity starting in May. We also know our customers pay bills, not rates,” Helen Burt, chief customer officer of National Grid. ”So, as summer heats up and customers use more electricity to cool their homes, we are continuing our Customer Savings Initiative to help customers save energy, save money, and secure available energy assistance.”

National Grid serves more than 20 million people in New York and Massachusetts.

All in, with both the supply cost and the delivery cost included, National Grid charges its residential customers about 48 cents a kilowatt-hour.

Westfield Gas & Electric is 17.5 cents a kilowatt-hour all in, said Thomas P. Flaherty Sr., general manager at the utility company.

He predicts that consumers will get a break in 2023.

A municipal utility, Westfield Gas & Electric will likely cut its gas rates in April and May. Westfield Gas and Electric is also looking to lower electricity costs once the region emerges from summer air conditioning season.

“We just want to make sure we are recovering enough through the summer before we lower our electric rates,” he said. ”The market has fallen off considerably compared with the volatility last year.”

Not that it was perfect. New England nearly went into rolling blackouts on Christmas Eve as demand spiked during a nasty cold snap. But January was warm and, save for two dips in tempurature, February was similarly mild.

“The electric grid was able to stay reliable,” Flaherty said.

The utility anticipated the light demand and didn’t get caught with electricity and natural gas it couldn’t sell.

“We were able to manage through that much better than anticipated,” he said.

And right now, energy prices for electricity and the natural gas used to generate it are trending lower for 2023.