Unitil Asks For Rate Cut

FITCHBURG (CBS) - Unitil Corporation has asked the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities for lower customer rates for the 2010-11 winter months. Unitil, which provides natural gas and electricity to people throughout New England, wants to lower its prices $0.0761 per therm from the rates previously proposed for this winter.

 If the new rates are approved, residential heating customers would see an average monthly savings of 13 percent, or $23.60, compared to last winter. Based on this proposal, over the six month winter period, residential heating customers would save approximately $140 on heating costs this winter. The cost of gas adjustment is normally set every six months to reflect changes in wholesale gas supply costs. Declining projected natural gas prices for this winter facilitated the new proposal.

 National Grid, another supplier of natural gas and electricity, also asked state regulators earlier this month to apporve a discount to its current rate.