No matter who supplies your power, you’re going to be paying more.

Groton Utilities announced that residential, commercial and industrial customers “should prepare for higher-than-normal” electricity bills this winter, due to rising energy costs that the utility can no longer absorb.

Eversource warned of higher bills in its third-quarter earnings call last week.

Norwich Public Utilities also announced that starting Nov. 1, Norwich Public Utilities bills will increase by 10 to 12% to reflect the current cost to purchase electricity and natural gas, on top of prescheduled electric and gas rate increases.

Eversource CEO Joseph Nolan warned that bills could increase by 40% as oil supplies get tighter, News 8 reported early last week.

And Nolan spelled that out in comments in Eversource’s third-quarter earnings call on Thursday: He said the default service rate in New Hampshire rose in August from 11 cents to 22 cents per kilowatt hour, and “similar levels are likely in Massachusetts and Connecticut beginning in January.”

Nolan said residential natural gas customers are looking at bills that are 20% higher on average than last winter, though “somewhat less than that in Connecticut.”

“Not only are fossil fuel prices much higher than they were a year ago, our region continues to be challenged by the combination of heavy reliance on natural gas generation and inadequate infrastructure to supply sufficient natural gas to that generation during cold winter months,” Nolan said.

He added that this winter “looks particularly challenging for New England, given the disruptions in the global energy markets caused by the war in Ukraine,” and the region’s access to liquefied natural gas will be even more limited than in recent years.

Supply concerns

But he said Eversource keeps a roughly 20-day supply of liquefied natural gas at its facilities, and that the company started planning for putting resources into storage in the spring.

“I feel very good about the supply and the natural gas situation for Eversource customers this winter. I have no concern around that,” Nolan said. Rather, his concern is that electric generators “do not have a firm fuel supply.”

He noted that ISO New England — which manages the electric grid in all six electric states — has indicated that while supply would be adequate in a moderate winter, “they may be challenged during a prolonged period of bitterly cold weather.”

Nolan acknowledged this “serious public health and safety threat” in a letter to President Joe Biden on Oct. 27, in which he asked the president to employ emergency powers to ensure adequate fuel resources in the event of severe weather in New England.

“Many of the solutions require advanced planning because they may require actions by regulators, finding new resources, chartering vessels and arranging for additional fuel deliveries,” Nolan said Thursday. “As a (transmission and distribution) utility with no generation other than 70 megawatts of solar, we are very limited in terms of how we influence the wintertime supply-demand equation.”

Eversource encourages customers to call (800) 286-2828 to see if they’re eligible for various state and federal assistance or payment plans. The utility is also encouraging customers to sign up for one of three webinars at 12 p.m. on Nov. 17, Dec. 1 or Dec. 8, to learn more avoiding service disconnection, payment plans, and energy efficiency programs.

Those who want to participate must register at eversource.com/billhelp.

For the third quarter of 2022, the company reported profits of $349.4 million, compared to $283.2 million during this period last year.

Groton Utilities

Groton Utilities said in a news release that customers can expect, effective Jan. 1, an increase in the Purchased Power Adjustment part of their electric bill of $0.01602 kWh. A residential customer using an average 700 kWh of electricity per month could see an increase of $11.21 on their bill, according to the release.

Groton Utilities noted in the release that electricity costs are climbing nationwide, including due to natural gas prices, and that the New England region is “especially susceptible to natural gas pricing volatility due to inadequate infrastructure to supply natural gas to the region.”

“The region relies heavily on natural gas to fuel over 50% of its electric energy requirements,” Groton Utilities said in the release. “Locally, our power supply costs increased 23% in fiscal year 2022 and are projected to increase by another 23% in 2023.”

“Groton Utilities is already beginning to feel the pinch of higher wholesale energy costs, as are most other utilities, but we felt it was important to push this adjustment past the holiday season if possible,” Director of Utilities Ron Gaudet said in a statement. “We are all utility customers ourselves, and we see that costs are going up everywhere ― it’s painful. We wanted to give our customers a heads up now so that they can prepare for increased bills come January.”

Groton Utilities noted in the release that, as part of CMEEC (Connecticut Municipal Electrical Energy Cooperative), it buys power “in bulk,” which has allowed it to keep prices lower than competitors.

Groton Utilities said its website has tips on how customers can save energy and to learn about promotions on rebates, such as for smart thermostats. The utility also listed programs available to help customers with their energy bills, including the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program, TVCCA Energy Assistance, United Way Project Warm-Up and the Town of Groton Human Services Groton Utilities Energy Assistance Program.

k.drelich@theday.com

e.moser@theday.com