New electric standard offer rates to begin in March

    AUGUSTA — The Maine Public Utilities Commission accepted bids on new standard offer energy rates for northern Maine. The rates for residential and small business customers served by Maine Public Service Company will be 8.3 cents per kilowatt hour (kwh). For medium business customers the price will be 8.95 cents per kwh and for large businesses the price will be 9.7 cents per kwh.     The new rates go into effect March 1. The residential, small business and medium business customers’ electricity supply prices will be reduced by roughly 2 percent from current prices. The prices for the largest consumers will rise by roughly 6 percent.
    “There were multiple bids for the smaller classes, resulting in a modest price decrease,” said Commission Chairman Sharon M. Reishus. “But the Commission remains concerned about the overall level of competition for energy supply in northern Maine. All Mainers and Maine businesses should use resources offered at www.efficiencymaine.com to do all they can to reduce electricity use.”  
    Under Maine’s retail electric access rules, the MPUC must ensure that standard offer service is available to all customers in Maine. The selected rates were chosen following a competitive bid process administered by the MPUC, and the names of the suppliers selected will be withheld for two weeks, allowing time for supply arrangements to be finalized.  
    Standard offer service is the default supply for electricity customers, meaning customers receive it if they have not purchased supply from another retail supplier or through an aggregator. Currently, about 99.5 per cent of the electric load for residential customers within MPS territory receive standard offer, while 75.6 percent of medium customers receive standard offer and 20.4 percent of the largest customers receive standard offer service.