Projo Politics: Smithfield

Sen. John J. Tassoni Jr. (D-Dist. 22, Smithfield, North Smithfield) wants the Public Utilities Commission to lower the rate hikes it recently granted to National Grid for electricity and gas.

"National Grid based its request of 21.7 percent for electricity and 10 percent for gas on the oil market at the time, when a barrel of oil was the highest price it had ever reached," said Senator Tassoni. "The market has changed, prices are down, as anyone filling up at the gas station is aware. It's time to bring a little readon and sanity to the rates that were granted to National Grid and bring those rates down."

"As I said before, when the utility giant sought and was granted the enormous hikes, they couldn't come at a worse time for customers struggling with rising prices in all other areas," said Senator Tassoni. "I understand that utility companies will always pass on to customers the burden of rising energy prices. Now that oil prices are down, National Grid should pass on the savings and ease the prices it wants to charge."

Natiional Grid, Rhode Island's primary utility company, earlier this year received approval from the PUC for a 21.7 percent hike for electricity and a 10 percent hike for gas. It was the largest single rate hike increase sought by and approved for the utility company, and the result, National Grid said at the time, of rising energy costs from its suppliers.

"It's just plain unfair to let National Grid charge those higher rates when the very basis for those rates no longer exists," said Senator Tassoni. "To allow National Grid to charge more than it needs to is wrong. If the rates are not lowered, the PUC is closing its eyes while the utility company gouges the consumer."

Senator Tassoni said that utility customers are intelligent enough to realize that "bottom line, they are going to have to pay more. But they should not have to stomach costs that are based not on reality but on company greed, as evidence by the huge profit these companies are making. What National Grid asked for was excessive to begin with. It is even more excessive now and the PUC needs to step in and review the hikes it granted."

 Tags  John Tassoni oil politics Public Utilities Commission rate hikes

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