By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com
Lieutenant Governor-elect Dan McKee has filed a motion to the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to intervene in the energy rate increases requested by National Grid.
In the motion, McKee argues that as a private citizen, Mayor of Cumberland, and incoming Lieutenant Governor/ Chair of the Rhode Island Small Business Advocacy Council, he is qualified to represent local businesses which will be affected by the rate increase.
In a statement, McKee says, “During this fragile period of early economic recovery, [small businesses] are especially vulnerable to unexpected changes in their cost structures. The rate filing by National Grid, if approved, will increase small business electricity costs by an unacceptable factor of 30%.”
McKee added Rhode Island workers are often underrepresented in PUC meetings.
Late last month, National Grid asked state regulators to approve rate increases between January 1 and June 30 to offset the predicted increase in natural gas prices. A spokesperson for the energy company said the increase is due to the lack of natural gas supply to Rhode Island.
National Grid said if its requested rate increase goes through, that a typical Rhode Island household using 500 kilowatt hours is projected to pay 23.6 percent more than last January; raising a residential customer’s bill from $88 to $109 a month.
If approved, McKee states former Executive Director of the Energy Council of Rhode Island, John Farely, would provide testimony to convince the PUC to consider alternatives to raise energy rates on Rhode Islanders.
