Lower Electricty Rates on the Way for National Grid Customers in Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE, RI (05/22/2012)(readMedia)-- The abundance of domestic supplies of natural gas continues to drive down the cost of natural gas and in turn the price National Grid's Rhode Island customers will be paying for electricity. The company is asking the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission to lower the price charged to customers for electricity supply by 12.1 percent starting July 1 and continuing through December.

The proposed cut in commodity prices translates into a total rate reduction of 6.3 percent for a typical National Grid Rhode Island residential customer using 500 kilowatt hours of electricity each month. That equates to a savings of $4.96; from the current $78.45 to $73.49 or an aggregate savings of $25.5 million for National Grid's approximately 480,000 Rhode Island customers over the six months the rate will be in effect.

More than a third of the electricity used in Rhode Island is generated using natural gas. With market prices of natural gas at near-historic lows generating companies can produce electricity at a lower cost. National Grid purchases electricity for its customers and passes the cost on with no mark up.

"If these proposed rates are approved, it will mean that the total rate our Rhode Island customers will be paying will be approximately what they paid for electricity in 2007," said Timothy F. Horan, president of National Grid in Rhode Island. "With the state's economy still struggling to rebound, these lower prices will benefit our customers especially through the summer months when electricity use peaks."

The proposed rate reduction more than off-sets National Grid's 5.1 percent requested increase in delivery charges that was filed in April. If approved, those rates would not take effect until February of 2013, at the earliest.

Even with the reduction in electricity rates, some customers might need assistance making their energy payments or help finding ways to further lower their energy bills. For information on payment assistance, billing options and energy efficiency programs, National Grid Rhode Island customers can go to www.nationalgridus.com/MyEnergyEfficiencyServices click on "Select Region", chose Rhode Island (Electricity), then click on "My bill and payments," then "Billing and payment options" for information about payments, or "My energy efficiency services" to learn about ways to save on energy costs.

NATIONAL GRID

National Grid (LSE: NG; NYSE:NGG) is an electricity and gas company that connects consumers to energy sources through its networks. The company is at the heart of one of the greatest challenges facing our society - to create new, sustainable energy solutions for the future and developing an energy system that underpins economic prosperity in the 21st century. National Grid holds a vital position at the center of the energy system and it 'joins everything up'.

In the northeast US, we connect more than seven million gas and electric customers to vital energy sources, essential for our modern lifestyles. In Great Britain, we run the gas and electricity systems that our society is built on, delivering gas and electricity across the country.

National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. It manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), and owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation, providing power to over one million LIPA customers. It is the largest distributor of natural gas in northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

For more information please visit our website: www.nationalgridus.com.

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