When National Grid requested to raise its winter electricity rates by 37 percent over last year’s, there was a lot of consternation among its customers, and a big question for everybody else. How high would Greater Boston’s other major utility provider, NSTAR, boost rates?

That shoe dropped on Friday. NSTAR is requesting from the state a rate increase of 29 percent, which would amount to about a $28 monthly increase on the average customer’s electric bill starting in January.

NSTAR’s pricing periods run from January to June and June to January. The 29 percent hike for January is in comparison to its current rates. The difference between its current rates and last year’s January to June period was negligible. National Grid changes its rates in November and April. The 37 percent increase for National Grid this November-to-April period is in comparison to the same period from last winter, and represents a larger boost when compared to its current rates, according to The Berkshire Eagle.


The Boston Business Journal in September provided a detailed breakdown of why electric prices are increasing here. To put it in a few words: the wholesale market for electricity has been stretched thin in New England, due in part to an inefficient infrastructure for getting the natural gas that powers most of New England’s electricity to power plants. That means NSTAR and National Grid are paying a lot more for electricity, and passing some of those added costs on to you.