Rhode Island Energy has made headlines this year — not good ones.
A frigid winter fueled public outrage over utility bills. Major mistakes in some customers’ bills prompted state regulators to launch an audit of the company’s books. Earlier this month, a storm left 65,000 residents without power or the ability to access the online outage map — prompting a rebuke from the usually mild-mannered Gov. Dan McKee.
So it’s hardly a surprise that the state’s primary utility provider wanted to focus on positive news, holding a Monday morning press conference — rather than the standard practice of an emailed press release — to announce its proposed winter electricity rates, which mark a 9% drop compared with the prior winter.
The proposed winter rates, which still require regulatory approval, call for a 14.77 cents per kilowatt-hour price on electricity for the six-month period starting Oct. 1. That’s still an increase over current summer rates, which are typically lower due to seasonal fluctuations in supply and demand, but it’s less than last winter’s 16.39 cents per kilowatt-hour.
The average residential customer who uses 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month can expect to see their electric bill rise $24.49 per month under the proposed winter rates — from $138.80 at present to $163.29, according to filings submitted to the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission.
Standing before a handful of reporters outside the company’s headquarters in the Elmwood section of Providence Monday, Greg Cornett, president of Rhode Island Energy, touted the proposed winter supply prices as the lowest in four years.
Additional credits — some of which are mandated as part of the 2022 sale of the state oil and gas business from National Grid to Rhode Island Energy’s parent company, PPL Corp. — will further reduce customers’ winter electric and gas bills, blunting the pain of seasonal fluctuations in natural gas pricing.
“I want to assure our customers we here at Rhode Island Energy are committed to providing safety, affordability and reliability,” Cornett said.
Cornett said the decision to announce winter rates via a press conference was a direct reflection of his role as president — a position he assumed in February 2024.
“We’re trying to be as transparent with our customers and stakeholders as we can be,” he said.
Addressing the critics
He acknowledged mounting frustrations with the utility provider. Bills have skyrocketed in recent winters, a reflection of seasonal supply and demand pricing and international political unrest.
Cornett reiterated this premise Monday, along with the company’s common refrain that increased customer fees unrelated to usage reflect “public policy” — meaning taxes, renewable energy and energy efficiency programs based on federal and state laws.
However, state utility regulators have also criticized Rhode Island Energy for large capital spending plans that far exceed the annual increases proposed by former utility operator National Grid.
PPL in a call with its investors earlier this year said it hopes to invest more than $1.3 billion into Rhode Island’s electric grid over the next four years, and nearly as much on the natural gas side.
The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission has forced PPL to scale back some of these capital projects in its reviews to lessen the cost impact on customers.
We’re trying to be as transparent with our customers and stakeholders as we can be.
Cornett did not mention the company’s ambitious and expensive capital investments Monday, however. Instead, he highlighted the utility supplier’s initiatives to help its customers, including fast-tracking mandated bill credits to apply to the coming winter. PPL committed to provide $154 million in credits to electric and gas customers to offset any deferred income tax hikes associated with the 2022 acquisition. Originally, the credits were to be spread out over 40 years. But Rhode Island Energy decided it would be more impactful to dole out the discounts faster in larger chunks.
“I’m a customer, and I’d rather see a meaningful credit in a month when prices are higher than a few cents over 37 years,” Cornett said.
The credits, which require separate approval from the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, would slash electric bills by $20 to $30 per month, with a $40 to $50 cut to monthly gas bills, for the first three months of 2026 and again in the first three months of 2027.
Separately, the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources has proposed spending $5 million from the state’s regional gas cap-and-trade program to credit low-income customers in October through December of this year. The annual monthly credit from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative revenue was not immediately available.
Rhode Island Energy is also starting a new, employee-funded assistance program to help its “most vulnerable customers.” Details of the Operation HELP program, which PPL already provides through its utility business in Pennsylvania, are still being finalized, though Cornett pledged it will be ready to access this year. The fund will be seeded with contributions from Rhode Island Energy’s leadership team — Cornett declined to provide an amount — alongside voluntary one-time donations or regular payroll deductions for all employees.
What about that outage map?
The press conference came on the heels of an outage that cut power for 16,000 Rhode Islanders in Central Falls and Pawtucket, according to news reports. Cornett was unaware of details when asked Monday morning, though he noted that he receives updates whenever mass outages occur.
Power was restored to most affected homes and businesses by 1 p.m. Monday.
Cornett sought to repair the company’s image after a powerful July 3 storm that left roughly 10% of Rhode Island Energy’s customers without electricity, some for more than a day. A technology glitch also rendered affected customers unable to access the company’s online outage map for real-time updates.
“The map did not crash,” Cornett said. “It just couldn’t keep up because it was pulling incorrect information.”
Cornett said the company has worked with its vendor to resolve the issue and continues to monitor the database carefully.
Meanwhile, he downplayed an ongoing probe of company billing practices. The PUC launched the audit in May after finding evidence of significant miscalculations in certain business and residential accounts. Cornett said the errors were not widespread, and affected only “select, complex accounts.” He also blamed the mistakes in part on bad data inherited from National Grid.
The commission has not yet scheduled any meetings to review the proposed winter electric rates, including the mandatory public hearing.
Customers in seven municipalities — Barrington, Central Falls, Narragansett, Newport, Portsmouth, Providence, and South Kingstown — can opt out of Rhode Island Energy electric prices and participate instead in a community aggregation plan that leverages bulk buying power to secure lower-priced electricity for residents. The default community winter electric rates have not been announced.
About 25% of the 780,000 Rhode Island Energy customers already opt out of the company’s default electric prices.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
