Central Maine Power announced Thursday it would explain rate changes effective January 1 and tease out differences between two separate rates that the company noticed consumers frequently confused.
In an e-mail, the company said customers will receive notices with their bills that explain the differences between the supply rate and the delivery rate.
CMP charges customers for the delivery of electricity and all customers share in transmission and distribution costs: costs involved in maintaining a safe, secure and reliable grid.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission determines the rates for Standard Offer Service energy supply.
The PUC announced 2019 rates earlier in December. Customers can also choose to receive energy supply from other competitive electric providers and a listing of licensed retail suppliers is available on the Maine Public Utilities Commission website.
Customers who choose the Standard Offer supply will see a 13.7 percent increase in that rate starting in 2019.
"This is not a CMP increase- this is the increase in the cost of the energy supplied largely by natural gas-fired generation companies. However, CMP collects this fee in bills and remits it to the Standard Offer suppliers so customers often assume we have just raised their rates—which is not the case,” wrote Doug Herling, president and CEO of CMP. “We want to do everything we can to prevent the sticker-shock that some customers experienced a year ago when the supply rates rose by close to 18% and were first reflected in customer bills during an extreme cold spell in January.”
“Electric utility pricing is somewhat complex and confusing for many,” Herling wrote. “While we have visited this issue frequently with customers over the years, we want to make sure we are continuing to provide information that helps customers better understand their bills.”
CMP provides tools for customers to monitor their electricity use, including the Energy Manager and Usage Alerts on its website.