By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Reading Recap -Reading Recap -
  • Depot Cam
  • Election 2023
    • News
    • Candidates
  • Town Gov’t
    • Community Planning & Development Commission (CPDC)
    • Elder & Human Services
    • Finance Committee (Fincom)
    • Killam School Building Committee
    • Reading Center for Active Living Committee (ReCalc)
    • Reading ARPA Advisory Committee (RAAC)
    • Select Board
    • Symonds Way Exploratory Committee (SWEC)
    • Town Meeting
  • Schools
    • 2022-2023 Calendar
    • School Committee
    • PTO’s
    • Alice M. Barrows Elementary School
    • Arthur W. Coolidge Middle School
    • Birch Meadow Elementary School
    • Reading Memorial High School
    • Rise Preschool
    • J. Warren Killam Elementary School
    • Joshua Eaton Elementary School
    • Walter S. Parker Middle School
    • Wood End Elementary School
  • Shop 01867
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Submit Yours Here
  • More
    • Advertise (Free)New
    • Business of the Week by Empower
    • CafĂš ConversationsHot
    • Contact
    • Depot Cam
    • Fundraisers
    • Letter to the Editor
    • News Archives
    • Police/Fire Scanner & Logs
    • Sports (Local)
    • Videos
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Weather
    • Limpy’s AdventuresLimpy’s AdventuresLimpy’s Adventures
Reading: 💡 RMLD Rates Increase 9.3% in March
Sign In
Notification Show More
Latest News
Melissa Murphy of Van Norden Rd
☕ Candidate CafĂ© Conversations – Melissa Murphy – Van Norden Rd
Elections Videos
The entrance to the Lincoln Street parking lot for snow parking
🅿 Overnight Street Parking Ban Lifted
Notices Police & Fire
Carlo Bacci of Main Street
☕ Candidate CafĂ© Conversations – Carlo Bacci of Main Street
Elections Videos
Letter to the Editor Reading Recap
✍ LTE: Dockser supports Herrick for Select Board
Letter to the Editor
Killam School Drone
🎒 March 20th Killam School Building Committee Recap
Killam School Committee
Reading Recap -Reading Recap -
  • Depot Cam
  • Election 2023
  • Events
  • Shop 01867
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Select Board
  • School Committee
Search
  • Depot Cam
  • Election 2023
    • News
    • Candidates
  • Town Gov’t
    • Community Planning & Development Commission (CPDC)
    • Elder & Human Services
    • Finance Committee (Fincom)
    • Killam School Building Committee
    • Reading Center for Active Living Committee (ReCalc)
    • Reading ARPA Advisory Committee (RAAC)
    • Select Board
    • Symonds Way Exploratory Committee (SWEC)
    • Town Meeting
  • Schools
    • 2022-2023 Calendar
    • School Committee
    • PTO’s
    • Alice M. Barrows Elementary School
    • Arthur W. Coolidge Middle School
    • Birch Meadow Elementary School
    • Reading Memorial High School
    • Rise Preschool
    • J. Warren Killam Elementary School
    • Joshua Eaton Elementary School
    • Walter S. Parker Middle School
    • Wood End Elementary School
  • Shop 01867
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Submit Yours Here
  • More
    • Advertise (Free)New
    • Business of the Week by Empower
    • CafĂš ConversationsHot
    • Contact
    • Depot Cam
    • Fundraisers
    • Letter to the Editor
    • News Archives
    • Police/Fire Scanner & Logs
    • Sports (Local)
    • Videos
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Weather
    • Limpy’s AdventuresLimpy’s AdventuresLimpy’s Adventures
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • News
  • Advertise
© 2022 Reading Recap. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Recap - > News > Town Gov't > RMLD > 💡 RMLD Rates Increase 9.3% in March
RMLD

💡 RMLD Rates Increase 9.3% in March

Editor
Last updated: 2023/01/22 at 6:56 PM
Editor  - Admin Published January 23, 2023
4 Min Read
RMLD January
SHARE

via the RMLD – The Reading Municipal Light Department’s (RMLD’s) Citizens’ Advisory Board (CAB) and Board of Commissioners (Board) approved rate increases that will result in average monthly bills increasing 9 percent across all rate classes effective March 1, 2023. As a not-for-profit entity, rates support the increased operating cost of the utility as well as increased monthly power supply costs.

Average monthly bills beginning in March 2023 are estimated to increase for each rate class: 9.3% for residential customers, 6.8% for residential time-of-use customers 9.3% for commercial customers, 9.0% for industrial time-of-use customers, and 4.4% for schools.  Rates are calculated on cost of service to serve each rate class, based on rate studies.

As an example, an average residential customer uses approximately 800 kilowatt hours (kWh) per month and can expect their monthly bill to increase by approximately $13 each month.  Example bills for all rate classes and additional discussion can be found on the RMLD website, please visit https://www.rmld.com/2023-bill-increase.

RMLD’s operating budget increased by 16 percent in 2023 compared to 2022. This is driven by continued infrastructure investments to support decarbonization in accordance with the 2021 Massachusetts climate legislation.  Power supply costs have been volatile, and the current price forecasts indicate a 2 percent increase for 2023 compared to actual 2022 power supply costs.  Power supply costs are pass-through to customers at cost with no markup.  RMLD proactively manages its power supply portfolio to keep customer bills low.  In 2023, 85% of the power supply portfolio is under contract and only 15% is subject to the open market prices which are now influenced by international events, especially events in Europe.

Despite the rate increases, customer bills are approximately 75-90 % lower than Investor-Owned Utilities in Massachusetts.

“While we recognize that any price increase presents a challenge to our customers, our active power supply management has mitigated this increase to keep it dramatically below the cost increases from investor-owned utilities.  We are able wait until March, after the winter heating season when customer kWh usage is high, to slightly reduce the burden for our customers,” said RMLD General Manager Greg Phipps. “RMLD’s diversified power portfolio helps minimize its costs while meeting policy and compliance obligations set forth by the 2021 Massachusetts Climate Bill.”

The RMLD 2023 rate increases enable compliance with the 2021 Massachusetts Climate Bill goal to reduce emissions in the utility, building, and transportation sectors by shifting from fossil fuels and towards non-carbon electricity, prompting faster electrification and decarbonization.  The Climate Bill established first-time compliance mandates for Municipal Light Plants (MLPs), requiring that the power sold by MLPs be sourced from resources that are 50% non-carbon by 2030, 75% non-carbon by 2040, and net-zero carbon by 2050.

The rate increase supports accelerating upgrades to RMLD’s local distribution system (wires, poles, transformers, etc.) to handle higher electricity loads and peak demand as customers electrify their homes and businesses in an effort to align with the 2021 Climate Bill goals. The Efficiency Electrification Charge (EEC, formerly Energy Conservation Charge (EEC) is also increasing from $0.003/kwh to $0.004/kwh to provide funds to support further electrification via more customer rebates and incentives.

More information on these rate increases can be found on, https://www.rmld.com/2023-bill-increase.  

You Might Also Like

đŸ–Œïž RMLD Elementary School Art Contest Awards

💡 RMLD Increase to be 40 Percent Less than Forecasted

🎹 RMLD’s 6th Annual High School Art Contest

☕ CafĂ© Conversations S1E7 Greg Phipps – RMLD GM💡

💡 RMLD Hires New Director of Integrated Resources

TAGGED: CAB, RMLD
Editor January 23, 2023
By Editor Admin
Follow:
Editor for the Reading Recap!
Previous Article Reading BasketBall Tryouts 2 🏀 4th-8th Grade Girls Basketball Tryouts Today
Next Article ❄ Live Downtown Depot Camera of the Snow
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe

Latest News

Melissa Murphy of Van Norden Rd
☕ Candidate CafĂ© Conversations – Melissa Murphy – Van Norden Rd
Elections Videos March 22, 2023
The entrance to the Lincoln Street parking lot for snow parking
🅿 Overnight Street Parking Ban Lifted
Notices Police & Fire March 22, 2023
Carlo Bacci of Main Street
☕ Candidate CafĂ© Conversations – Carlo Bacci of Main Street
Elections Videos March 22, 2023
Letter to the Editor Reading Recap
✍ LTE: Dockser supports Herrick for Select Board
Letter to the Editor March 22, 2023
//

Reading Recap aims to be your one stop destination for all the latest local news, meetings and events happening in the Town of Reading, Massachusetts.

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Reading Recap -Reading Recap -
Follow US

© 2023 Reading Recap.
Not affiliated with the Town of Reading.
Created by Reading residents for Reading residents.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?