National Grid Ready to Lower Rates for Massachusetts Electricity Customers

WALTHAM, MA (03/21/2012)(readMedia)-- For the second time in less than a week, National Grid is proposing to lower energy costs for its Massachusetts customers. The company is asking the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities for permission to lower residential electricity rates reducing the monthly bill by 10.4 percent starting May 1. Last week the company filed a request for a net 13 percent reduction in natural gas rates, which also will take effect on May 1. The company is passing on the lower costs it pays for electricity purchased for its customers. As a result, electric commodity rates will decline by 18.7 percent. The cost of electricity makes up approximately 50 percent of a residential customer's bill. The remainder covers the costs incurred to deliver the electricity to the customer.

A typical National Grid residential customer using 500 kilowatt hours of electricity each month will see their monthly bill decline by approximately $7.74, from $74.21 to $66.47 based on the proposed cost of electric commodity rates that will run through October of this year.

"It's gratifying to be able to again pass these cost savings on to our customers," said Marcy Reed, president of National Grid in Massachusetts. "With nearly 40 percent of the electricity used in Massachusetts being generated by natural gas, and with continued low natural gas prices, we expect that customers will see the benefits of these lower costs in both their natural gas and electricity bills."

Last week National Grid asked the DPU to reduce natural gas rates by 13 percent for the off-peak season running from May 1 until November 1. That translates into a monthly savings of approximately $6 for the typical National Grid natural gas customer in Massachusetts.

National Grid understands that even with these significant reductions in electricity and natural gas rates, some customers might need assistance making their energy payments or might be interested in finding ways to save on their energy bills. For information, Massachusetts customers can go to www.nationalgridus.com/MyEnergyEfficiencyServices click on Select Region, select Massachusetts (Gas or 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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