Public Utilities Commission breaks down the latest changes to your electric bill - WMTW Portland

Public Utilities Commission explains changes to your electric bill

Public Utilities Commission breaks down the latest changes to your electric bill

With multiple rate changes taking effect this month alone. The Public Utilities Commission broke down why and how your electric bill will be changing

With multiple rate changes taking effect this month alone, the Public Utilities Commission broke down why and how electric bills for some Mainers will be changing.

Your electric bill is broken into parts: Supply, Distribution, Transmission and Stranded Costs.

This weekend a portion of the supply side of your bill (standard offer rates) is decreasing by $5.

Chair of the Commission Phil Bartlett explained that over the next few years CMP customers will likely see their bills go up by more than a dollar every January and July until the start of 2025.

"That $0.01 per kilowatt hour reduction is equivalent to about $5 per month in savings in your average residential customer bill. The savings will be in place through the end of the year. " Bartlett said.

This decrease is due to stranded cost or the impacts of long-term contracts for renewable power as well as the net energy billing programs created by state lawmakers.

With more increases than decreases coming to customers, public advocate Bill Harwood believes more needs to be done to help Mainers.

"This is real money, and these are rates that, for many ratepayers, are simply unaffordable. All of us who are involved in the process of setting rates have got to work harder and do a better job to get these rates under control." Harwood said.