WARWICK – National Grid customers will be able to restore cut-off service for a payment of as little as 10 percent, under temporary rules approved by the R.I. Public Utilities Commission to address “imminent peril” to the public health and safety.
The ruling late yesterday came in response to a July 28 filing by the George Wiley Center (“Petition to amend termination rules, specifically, amendment to allow consumers the ability to make a 10% down payment to restore and/or avoid termination of utility service”; PUC Docket No. 3975), which argued that higher energy costs would put more utility customers in danger of being left without heat or electricity this winter. At an open meeting yesterday, which followed more than two months of hearings and reports, the commission agreed.
“The PUC found there is imminent peril to the health and safety to the public,” the panel said in a statement. It therefore “moved to amend and adopt emergency termination rules effective immediately through Dec. 1.”
Under the temporary rules, “the Customer Payment Plans are hereby modified to allow protected and unprotected customers whose service is terminated the opportunity to have their service restored” if the customer or a heating-assistance agency makes a payment of as little as 10 percent of the amount due on the account:
• Customers with an outstanding balance of less than $1,000 must make a down payment of at least 20 percent, but may pay the remainder over the next 18 months.
• Those owing $1,000 to $2,000 must pay 15 percent or more to restore service, and may pay the remainder over the next 24 months.
• Those with a balance due of $2,500 or more must pay at least 10 percent down, and the rest over 36 months, the PUC said.
The initial payments required at each tier are about half the usual minimum for the restoration of service. In an Oct. 3 filing, National Grid had approved the concept of an emergency service restoration plan, although the utility sought down payments somewhat higher than the PUC finally approved. The company “is concerned and committed to protecting and supporting our most vulnerable customers,” National Grid Senior Counsel Thomas R. Teehan wrote in that filing. “With the winter months approaching, the company recommends and is willing to accept amended practices effective through Dec. 1.”
For additional information about the R.I. Public Utilities Commission and its Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, including the text of recent filings by local utilities and other regulated businesses, visit www.ripuc.org.
National Grid, a division of the U.K.-based National Grid plc (NYSE: NGG, LSE: NG), distributes electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. Additional information is available at www.nationalgridus.com.
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