Utility Hikes Are Likely Coming This Winter. How To Save In Foxborough

FOXBOROUGH, MA — Utility rate hikes in Massachusetts are expected to put a hurt on wallets, checking accounts and credit cards this winter.

Electrical provider National Grid said recently it will ask the state to double supply rates this winter: from last winter's 14.82 cents per kilowatt-hour rate to 33.89 cents this winter. National Grid says natural gas costs are also driving its rate increase because the fossil fuel is the main energy source for the region's electrical grid. The increase will likely take place Nov. 1.

In Foxboro, the town's Power Forward program is one way to counteract these rising costs.

Communications & Civic Engagement Specialist Christina Metcalf tells Patch that while costs for National Grid are expected to rise, the standard rate for Power Forward will remain at 16.74 cents per kilowatt-hour.

The program even offers an option that provides completely renewable electricity from the New England region. That program, Power Forward Green, has rates at 19.74 cents per kilowatt-hour.

"These prices will be good until November 2024, regardless of what National Grid does after April, if prices were to drop," Metcalf explained.

What that means is customers can lock in prices much lower than the 33.89 cent mark National Grid is asking for this winter, but, if prices were to drop below the Power Forward rate in the future, they would still be paying the same rate.

Mass Power Choice runs the program, and Foxborough partners with the agency to provide residents with these rates.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has a main role in utility price hikes. European countries have mostly stopped buying natural gas from Russia as punishment for the war. Now, Europe is buying more natural gas from the U.S. and Canada, creating a tighter local supply, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The war has only compounded a longstanding natural gas problem in New England: the region doesn't have enough gas pipelines to keep up with demand, according to the energy regulator ISO New England.

To read more about utility hikes on Patch, click here: Big Utility Hikes Coming To MA This Winter: National Grid, Eversource

With reporting from Neal McNamara.