National Grid says summer 2023 electricity prices could be lower

National Grid customers in Massachusetts could see their bills drop this summer.

The company said Thursday it had filed a proposal with the Massachusetts Department of Utilities that would reduce monthly bills for typical residential customers by about 39%. This would equate to a decrease of $115.39 from $297.22 to $181.83 per month.

The proposal still needs to be approved by the DPU for the changes to come into effect.

If this happens, customers will see the new prices reflected on their bills for a period of six months from May 1.

“We understand that high energy costs have been difficult for customers,” National Grid chief customer officer Helen Burt said in a statement. “We are pleased that these new summer tariffs will help reduce the overall cost of electricity from May. We also know that our customers pay bills, not rates. So as summer heats up and customers use more electricity to cool their homes, we are continuing our customer savings initiative to help customers save energy, save money and securing available energy assistance.

The changes would lower the price of customer power supply per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from about 33.89 cents/kWh to 14.12 cents/kWh, National Grid said. The average residential customer uses about 600 kWh per month.

Each year, National Grid switches from winter tariffs to summer tariffs on 1 May. Eversource, the region’s other major utility, is changing its rates on July 1.

National Grid buys electricity on behalf of its customers in a wholesale electricity market, the company said. These costs are then passed on to customers. Summer rates are generally lower than winter rates due to lower demand for natural gas.

National Grid said these summer rates will still be higher than a year ago, by about 2.6 cents/kWh.

“A volatile energy market continues to contribute to a higher market price environment than we have experienced in recent years,” the company said in a statement.

The company is currently working with heads of state to “consider changes to procurement processes to reduce price volatility for customers in the future.”