Latest news with #RhodeIslandPublicUtilitiesCommission
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
R.I. Senate confirms Karen Bradbury to open spot on PUC
Karen Bradbury and her husband Patrick Crowley smile after the Rhode Island Senate vote on Tuesday, May 27, confirming Bradbury's appointment to the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission. (Screenshot/Capitol TV) Rhode Island's three-pronged state utility panel is back to full power, with the Rhode Island Senate unanimously voting to confirm Karen Bradbury to the open seat on the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission. The chamber's 30-0 vote Tuesday fills the vacancy left by former commissioner John Revens, who resigned in December, midway through his six-year term. Supporters of Bradbury touted her experience in state and federal government and renewable energy as qualifications for her appointment. Bradbury most recently served as program administrator for Rhode Island's Office of Energy Resources, overseeing the rollout of federally funded tax credits and incentives to help homeowners and small business owners pay for high-efficiency electric heat pumps, among other renewable energy programs. Much of her 20-year policy career was spent working under U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, where she left as projects director in December 2022. 'She is committed to finding solutions that provide Rhode Islanders with clean and affordable energy,' Sen. Robert Britto, an East Providence Democrat, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, said of Bradbury. 'Her track record makes her an excellent selection to serve on the PUC.' Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski, a South Kingstown Democrat, also gave high praise to Bradbury. 'We are so fortunate to have someone with her expertise and her knowledge, and not only that, she's great to work with,' Sosnowski said. Bradbury did not address the chamber, but waved in response to standing applause after the vote. She was accompanied by her husband, Patrick Crowley, the president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO. McKee's administration previously defended against inquiries about whether Bradbury's appointment was related to her husband's influential role with a major labor union, instead focusing on Bradbury's own qualifications for the job. Bradbury's high-profile appointment to the regulatory body carries extra weight amid rising frustration over utility costs and profits reported by Rhode Island Energy. Addressing lawmakers during a May 20 panel hearing, Bradbury pledged to protect families and businesses grappling with soaring utility bills while also advancing the state's renewable energy mandates, which are one of several costs contributing to monthly utility bills. The utilities commission by law cannot reject the state utility provider's proposed supply-side prices, as long as they do not include an extra markup beyond what it costs to purchase power directly from third-party suppliers. However, the commission has more authority over service-side charges and has scaled back Rhode Island Energy's proposed investments in capital infrastructure projects in acknowledgement of the extra costs to customers. Bradbury will serve out the rest of Revens' term, which ends on March 1, 2027. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How does Rhode Island spell relief for utility customers? Regulators, lawmakers look for solutions.
A standing room-only crowd packed the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission offices in Warwick on Monday, March 10, 2025, for a public hearing about proposed summer utility rates. (Photo by Megan Cotter) Ubaldo Quintero peers through the window of his second-floor apartment at a Rhode Island Energy truck driving through his Pawtucket neighborhood. He hopes and prays utility company technicians aren't coming to his door. Quintero, 63, has faced multiple shutoffs over the past five years for defaulting on his payment plan, he explains through an interpreter. Quintero is from Colombia and speaks Spanish. He can't say how much his latest electric bill is; he avoids opening the mail because he knows his income as a security guard is not enough to cover the cost. And so he waits for the next time the lights don't turn on, and the humming medical devices helping his wife, Janeth, manage her chronic illnesses fall silent. If Quintero didn't have to work on Monday night, March 10, he would have gone to a public hearing to share his story with state utility regulators considering changes to electric and gas bills. He's attended such twice-a-year hearings in the past. He's also written to lawmakers in support of bills that would provide relief for low-income and medically vulnerable residents like him. Nearly 200 people packed the Warwick offices of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for the March 10 hearing to denounce rising energy bills. Among them was Rep. Megan Cotter, an Exeter Democrat and a first-time attendee at the rate review hearings. 'This is an issue that impacts every single Rhode Islander, from seniors on fixed income to small businesses,' Cotter said in an interview. 'Rhode Island needs to wake up and do something. Whatever it's going to take.' But solving the structural and systemic problems at least partially responsible for soaring and unpredictable utility bills is complicated. State law limits the PUC's oversight over the supply-side energy prices, as long as the company can prove its proposed rates are a direct reflection of what it pays third-party suppliers, with no additional profit, the rates must be approved. The appointed utility panel is expected to vote soon on Rhode Island Energy's proposed changes to electric and gas rates before they take effect on April 1, though a meeting date has not been scheduled. Meanwhile, at the Rhode Island State House, energy costs are in the spotlight thanks to a bevy of bills. Some are perennial proposals: to cap bills based on income and to give more time for seniors and medically vulnerable residents like Quintero and his wife to pay their overdue bills. Others are more radical: encouraging purchase of nuclear power as an alternative energy source, chopping Rhode Island Energy's profit ceiling of 9.275% by more than half, and setting up a study panel to review the alternative of a state-run public utility. Cotter, who is behind the latter two bills, acknowledges her proposals might sound severe. But so is the problem. And she has no confidence that PPL Corp., the publicly traded parent company that owns Rhode Island Energy, will fix it on its own. 'They're not ever going to try to get less money,' Cotter said. 'They're always looking out for shareholders. That's their job as a company and a business.' PPL Corp. reported $888 million in profits for 2024, including utility operations in Rhode Island, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. The earnings mark a 20% increase over the prior year, with a corresponding increase in earnings per share. Under the terms of its 2022 purchase of Rhode Island's utility operations from former owner National Grid, PPL was barred from hiking distribution costs to Rhode Island customers for three years. So 2026 will be the first time the utility carrier can propose higher fees not tied to supply-side fluctuations or state policy mandates. The company's proposed distribution charges are expected to be submitted this fall. But even without extra distribution fees, Rhode Island energy customers have seen their bills skyrocket due to political unrest and limited supply, which drives wholesale prices higher. Supply-side electric charges — which account for half of the average monthly bill — reached their highest rate in state history in winter 2022, with the second highest rates on record the following winter. The peaks coincided with international market spikes in response to the war in Ukraine, magnified in New England because of limited regional pipeline capacity. Meanwhile, state laws mandating decarbonization, including offsetting 100% of state electricity usage through renewable sources or credits by 2030, hiked bill charges associated with renewable energy. This winter, market prices declined, while the PUC issued bill credits to offset a $25 million overcollection from 2023. Most residential customers received a one-time credit of nearly $69 on their December bills, while low-income customers got $140, divided into $23 monthly increments for the last six months. Recent cold snaps spiked wholesale pricing and customer demand for electricity again, escalating what was already a nearly $169 monthly electric bill for the average residential customer using 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity. 'My bill went from $100 to $200 last month,' Catherine Zelazny, of Warwick, told state regulators during the March 10 hearing. 'I did not change anything. I do not use the oven, I keep my house at a low temperature.' Brian Schuster, a Rhode Island Energy spokesperson, attempted to empathize in his opening remarks at the hearing, promising relief would be on the way. 'We have experienced one of the coldest winters, and we feel the pain you're going through,' Schuster said. The crowd responded with jeers. In keeping with seasonal fluctuations in electricity prices, Rhode Island Energy customers would see their electric bills decrease for the six-month period starting April 1. The proposed rate reduction would save an average residential customer about $28 on their monthly electric bill — from $169 to $142 per month — according to calculations from Rhode Island Energy submitted to the PUC. But fired-up residents at the hearing did not want to talk about summer electric savings, or the proposed $78 increase in annual natural gas fees — the other item on the agenda. One after another, they took aim at Rhode Island Energy and its executives, blaming their profit-centered approach for skyrocketing bills. 'I am angry at an ever-increasing profit that squeezes hardworking Rhode Islanders, forcing us to choose between heat and food, children and rent,' said Sue Kelley, 76, of Cranston. 'I am angry that no corporation expects itself to support the greater community or consider the morality of its actions.' Kelley urged state regulators to 'force an immediate rate cut,' a plea echoed by many among the 50 people who testified. The commission has never denied the base supply rates, as proposals have always proven to directly reflect market pricing, said Todd Bianco, chief economic and policy analyst for the commission, in an interview. However, the commission has attempted to blunt the impact to customers' bills at least five times over the last 10 years by deferring proposed increases to warmer months, and offering credits from various revenue sources, including the state's carbon trade program. PUC Chairman Ronald Gerwatowski told the crowd during the hearing that he and fellow commissioner Abigail Anthony were not allowed to respond to comments. The third, $139,000-salaried seat on the three-member panel has been vacant since commissioner John Revens Jr. stepped down in December. But Cotter felt commissioners were not receptive to the public testimony. 'It did feel like a lack of empathy for the folks who were speaking,' Cotter said. In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey on Monday ordered the state's utility regulators to issue credits for April electric bills while announcing a $220 million 'Energy Affordability Agenda' to find competitive alternative energy suppliers, reduce seasonal and market-based price volatility, and enroll more people in discount programs. Last month, at Healey's urging, the state's Department of Public Utilities forced natural gas companies to lower March and April bills by 5%, temporarily suspending delivery fees that help pay with energy efficiency programs and capital infrastructure improvements. Rep. Teresa Tanzi, a Narragansett Democrat, criticized Gov. Dan. McKee for not taking a similar role in Rhode Island. 'I think he's out of touch,' Tanzi said of McKee in an interview. 'This is something a governor should be addressing without a doubt.' Energy costs are a 'top priority,' Olivia DaRocha, a spokesperson for McKee, said in an emailed response. She gave examples of efforts to help customers, including bill credits issued last fall at McKee's direction, along with the recent $8 million settlement with Rhode Island Energy for invoicing fraud committed by its predecessor National Grid. The settlement money is not being used directly to reduce customers' bills, but instead will pay down debt in a separate fund for emergency responses, indirectly sparing customers higher fees in the long run, Bianco said. The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources is also soliciting proposals from vendors to administer the state's energy efficiency program to determine whether a third party — rather than the state utility company — offers the best 'net benefits' to state residents, as required under the state's fiscal 2024 budget. Bids were due Friday, though information on the number and identities of bidders was not immediately available. Activists with The George Wiley Center, Rhode Island Working Families Party, Black Lives Matter PAC and Indivisible RI have flooded McKee's inbox with letters, and petitions urging the governor to 'address the escalating utility costs that are crushing families. Camilo Viveiros, coordinator and executive director for the George Wiley Center, said he has not heard anything from the governor's office in the week since a 600-signature petition was sent. State representatives met twice over Zoom with Rhode Island Energy leaders in February in the hopes of finding ways to cut costs for customers. But Tanzi said they weren't prepared to answer specific questions, and didn't let lawmakers record the call for those unable to attend. 'I too often feel that they are trying to do a song and dance around this, and in this case put the blame on us,' Tanzi said. 'They're saying they're so cut to the bone, they have no room to be doing anything differently.' Caroline Pretyman, a Rhode Island Energy spokesperson, said in an emailed response that the company will continue to have continued discussions with policymakers, regulators and 'other stakeholders.' This is an issue that impacts every single Rhode Islander, from seniors on fixed income to small businesses. Rhode Island needs to wake up and do something. Whatever it's going to take. – Rep. Megan Cotter, an Exeter Democrat Rep. June Speakman, a Warren Democrat, on Feb. 28 introduced a resolution asking the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers to meet with Rhode Island Energy to consider 'immediate and meaningful action' to reduce utility bills, reporting recommendations to House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi by April 22. The non-binding resolution, co-sponsored by 10 House Democrats, also points to what utility regulators did in Massachusetts as a model for Rhode Island to consider. National Grid's energy efficiency charge in Massachusetts — which is being suspended for two months on natural gas bills — is 4.5 times higher than what Rhode Island Energy charges its natural gas customers. Temporarily suspending the energy efficiency charge in Rhode Island would not drastically reduce customers' natural gas bills, especially in the warmer months, Bianco said. State utility regulators aren't opposed to policy solutions. They have written to lawmakers to support a bill that would enact a policy model popularized in a dozen other states. The Percentage of Income Payment Plan program would create a tiered-income plan in which the lowest-income residents would pay no more than 3-6% of their income on gas and electricity. Rhode Island Energy did not oppose the bill in 2024, but warned of additional 'programmatic and administrative costs,' according to an April 1, 2024, letter from its lobbyist Nicholas Ucci. The company has come out strongly against both of Cotter's bills to cap revenue and create a study commission to explore how the state could set up a public-owned utility. In op-eds published in The Providence Journal and The Boston Globe respectively, Rhode Island Energy President Greg Cornett warned the bills would increase rates while risking safety and reliability. He said Cotter 'glosses over the risk for Rhode Islanders in this plan, and ignores the real reasons that energy costs are rising.' Viveiros of the George Wiley Center sees Cornett's public rebuttal as further evidence of Rhode Island Energy's poor communication. 'I don't know who their publicity marketing person is that they are spending millions of dollars for, and our bills pay for, but that isn't what consumers want to see,' Viveiros said. Ucci was paid $24,000 as Rhode Island Energy's lobbyist in 2024, according to the Rhode Island secretary of state's Lobby Tracker. Advocates with the George Wiley Center have been unable to meet or talk to Ucci or other company executives outside of bill hearings, unlike National Grid executives, including its company president, who made themselves available to discuss policy ideas prior to selling the state's utilities, Viveiros said. Pretyman said Rhode Island Energy has spoken with sponsors of the Percentage Income Payment Plan bill 'at various times' in past sessions, noting that hearings on this year's PIPP bills have not been scheduled. Relief can't come soon enough for Pawtucket resident Quintero, who just finished paying back his neighbor the $250 lent to him last fall to turn his power back on. Quintero stopped paying for natural gas heat 15 years ago, relying on a small space heater and sealing his windows shut to try and avoid extra costs. But he still can't afford groceries and power. As long as Janeth's medical machines keep running, she can stay comfortable and manage her chronic conditions, including sleep apnea and lipedema. 'She basically cannot live without those machines,' he says through an interpreter. He lets out a long, low sigh. 'This is a constant problem.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rhode Island Energy says customers will pay less for electricity this summer
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission held a public hearing Monday night to discuss a proposal to decrease supply prices for summer rates. That proposal would decrease the Rhode Island Energy supply price by about $30 per month for the average customer. Many Rhode Islanders have complained to 12 News about higher costs for their gas and electric bills. During Monday night's meeting, dozens of customers filled the room to voice their concerns and listen to the company's proposal. RELATED: Expensive electric bills put RI clean energy policies into spotlight Rhode Island Energy says the average customer's bill will be nearly 17% lower than what they paid during the winter, but it would be about 25 cents higher than last summer's rate. 'We understand the burden of high bills, and we know you feel it even more when temperatures drop and supply prices continue to be high as they have this winter,' said Brian Schuster with Rhode Island Energy. 'The largest component of the adjustments discussed this evening pertains to supply prices, which are completely driven by the market,' he continued. 'We procure the best mix and price and supply resources we can, consistent with the obligations we have under the Act on Climate. And we pass those supply resources on to our customers, dollar for dollar. There's no markup. There is no profit.' If the proposal is approved, it will go into effect next month. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'I can't afford it anymore.' Rhode Islanders slam utility and high costs of energy
WARWICK – A hearing Monday night was supposed to be about proposals that would see a net decrease in energy bills for most Rhode Islanders, but it sure didn't feel like it. Beforehand, protesters rallied outside the offices of state utilities regulators to complain about Rhode Island Energy's prices, and during the standing-room-only hearing, speaker after speaker aimed criticism at the state's largest gas and electric utility. Joyce Fiore was one of several customers who brought their bills up to the podium to read off the skyrocketing numbers. Her electric bill jumped from $164 in December to $580 in February, she said. 'I've lived in Cranston for close to 50 years now, and I've never seen bills like this,' she told the two members of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission who were present at the hearing. While electric rates have been abnormally high in Rhode Island for a while now, the bill impact has been greater this winter because it's been colder than the mild winters of the past couple of years. That's not only pushed up energy usage but also put pressure on wholesale electric prices on the spot market. Natural gas rates have also increased in recent years, pushing up the cost of heating. The General Assembly session that opened in January has been marked by an unusual number of pieces of legislation that aim to rein in Rhode Island Energy's costs. For its part, Rhode Island Energy says it can do little about the energy rates that it passes on to ratepayers without a mark-up. They're largely determined by regional market forces, the company says. 'We understand the burden of high bills, and we know you feel it even more when temperatures drop, and supply prices continue to be high, as they have this winter,' Brian Schuster, director of external affairs at the company, said at the hearing. 'We feel it, too.' But the 180 people in attendance were unconvinced, booing and heckling Schuster throughout his presentation. The complaints come as Rhode Island Energy is planning to lower electric rates, as usual, for the spring and summer. For residential customers, starting April 1, the default energy rate would drop from 16.4 cents per kilowatt hour to 10.1 cents. After accounting for a small increase in delivery charges, the bill for a typical customer that uses 500 kilowatt hours a month would go down by 17%, from $161.85 to $141.73. But even though that's a steep reduction from the winter rate for what's known as last-resort service, it's still significantly higher than the rates of summers past. Electric rates in Rhode Island spiked nearly three years ago as the war in Ukraine drove up European demand for natural gas, the primary fuel for power generation in New England. Even though prices have eased, they've yet to come down to previous levels. There are also structural problems that inflate New England's wholesale electric prices. While the use of natural gas for power production has increased significantly in the region over the last two decades to become the dominant fuel source, pipeline capacity has failed to keep up. Opposition from environmental groups has stymied new pipeline projects, so as demand for the fossil fuel has increased, the pipelines that bring gas from Pennsylvania shale fields and beyond have become more and more constrained. A recent study from S&P Global, supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, found that wholesale natural gas prices in Boston during periods of peak demand in the winter were 166% higher than the national benchmark. The pipeline constraints also help explain why New Englanders pay more for natural gas for heating. Under a second proposal that Rhode Island Energy filed with the utilities commission, gas rates would go up slightly on April 1. For a typical customer that uses 845 therms a year, the bill would edge up by 4.4%, from $1,785.11 to $1,863.68. State lawmakers are proposing to bring relief to ratepayers in a number of ways. Rep. Megan Cotter, who was at the hearing, has proposed slashing the cap on Rhode Island Energy's return on investment. She's introduced a second measure to look into turning the private, investor-owned company into a public entity. Rep. Charlene Lima has introduced legislation that delays by a decade Rhode Island's obligation to offset all energy usage with renewables by 2033. Sen. Dawn Euer is sponsoring a bill that would prohibit Rhode Island Energy from recovering from ratepayers the costs, among others, of marketing, lobbying or investor relations. And Rep. Scott Slater has brought back his perennial bill to cap energy bills for the poorest Rhode Islanders. But speakers at the utilities commission hearing argued that there are deeper structural problems with the state's energy system. They contend that even though customers can sign on with third-party suppliers or, in certain communities, with municipal aggregation plans, Rhode Island Energy acts as a monopoly. And that the state utilities commission doesn't do enough to regulate the company. 'Give these people hope,' Aseem Rastogi, chair of Indivisible RI, said to the commission members. 'Give us all hope that you'll do the right thing for people over profits.' State Sen. Elaine Morgan, one of several lawmakers in attendance, said something similar. 'You were commissioned by the General Assembly to protect us, the ratepayers,' the Hopkinton Republican said. 'We're asking for your protection right now.' Kathleen Giroux, a former resident of Florida, said her heating bill for her 900-square-foot apartment in Smithfield went from $98 in November to $404 this month. 'I can't afford it anymore,' she said. 'I'm ready to pack it up and move back to Florida.' This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: More than 180 people come out to complain of high energy costs in RI
