Regulators approve 23 percent distribution rate hike for Versant Power customers
By Christopher Burns, Bangor Daily News Staff
Versant Power customers will see their monthly bills increase by about 8 percent.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission on March 11approved the 23 percent increase to Versant Power’s distribution rate. For the average Maine customer consuming 500 kilowatt hours a month, that will mean an $11.15 increase in their bill, the commission said.
That will be applied to customers in both Versant’s Maine Public and Bangor Hydro districts.
Distribution rates are the section of electricity bills that account for the costs of transmitting electricity to homes and businesses. Other elements of a customer’s bill includes transmission, standard offer supply and stranded costs.
Regulators acknowledged concerns about rising costs and the financial strain Mainers are under, but that there is a continued need for more investment in the state’s electric grid to “ensure reliability, safety, and modernization.:
“The Commission understands that rate increases place a burden on customers, and we take those concerns very seriously,” the commission’s chair, Philip L. Bartlett II, said in a statement. “Versant Power needs to make critical improvements to its infrastructure and operations, but it must also manage the pace of growth given concerns about affordability. Customers should expect to see significant, measurable benefits when rates go up and we will hold the utility accountable for delivering those benefits. As part of our approval, we are requiring Versant to demonstrate improved reliability with financial penalties for failure to do so.”
Versant Power told the commission that the rate increase was necessary because of approximately $6.6 million in deferred recovery work from storms in December 2022 and September 2023, as well as increased payroll expenses, vegetation management, inflation and system improvements.
It’s the fifth increase for Versant Power’s distribution rate since 2016, according to a commission report.