Peabody Municipal Light Plant (PMLP) has raised its all-in rates by 16 percent due to increased energy commodity costs. The increase takes effect immediately for the first quarter of 2023.
The company’s Purchased Power and Fuel Cost Adjustment (PP&FCA) increase is a quarterly adjustment that ebbs and flows with the costs tied to procuring these energy commodities. When commodities are high, the PP&FCA increases. When they’re low, the PP&FCA decreases. At this time, every electric utility is faced with energy prices that are higher than they’ve ever been.
The “all-in” rate is a term used to describe all factors contributing to a customer’s total bill, including PMLP’s base rate, PP&FCA, hydro credits, and other factors (see your bill for a detailed breakdown). For reference, the PP&FCA cost for residential customers is now $.04376/kWh.
This means that the all-in rate for residential customers is around 16.5¢/kWh. In comparison, National Grid’s rate is 48.8¢/kWh. PMLP still maintains very competitive electric rates compared to other utilities and continues to be among the lowest in the state and region.
While the rate comparison to investor-owned utilities like National Grid helps to demonstrate the benefits of a municipal utility, PMLP knows that any increase in these economic times is a difficult one. This is the second consecutive quarterly increase to the PP&FCA.
“Unfortunately, it is unclear if there will be relief in 2023, although we remain hopeful,” said PMLP Manager Joseph Anastasi.
As an illustration of the higher costs that utilities like PMLP have faced, wholesale energy prices were 2.6¢/kWh in January 2021, compared to 14.9¢ in January 2022. They are forecast to increase to 23¢ in January 2023.
“Our generation ownership and contracts are partially able to help shield our customers from these drastic price increases, but not entirely,” said Anastasi, adding that PMLP continues to invest resources into making sure PMLP’s electric system is stable, reliable and resilient. When a major circuit experienced an equipment failure a few days ago, PMLP employees were able to restore power within 90 minutes.
“Many people in Peabody and South Lynnfield rely on uninterrupted service from PMLP, and when the occasional outage occurs, restoration is handled safely and as quickly as possible,” said Anastasi.
PMLP encourages all customers to take full advantage of discounts and rebate credits whenever possible. PMLP offers a 20 percent discount for on-time payment as well as many rebates for purchasing new, more energy-efficient appliances and yard tools, which can help customers save money in their up-front purchase costs as well as in their monthly operating costs.
For more information about rebates, or to sign up for automatic payments, visit pmlp.com or call 978-531-5975.
PMLP serves all of Peabody and a portion of Lynnfield (an autonomous subdivision of the City of Peabody). With approximately 26,000 customers, PMLP is the third largest of 40 municipal electric utilities in the Commonwealth.
PMLP’s power supply comes from a variety of sources throughout the Northeast, including two generators in Peabody owned and operated by PMLP. This supply supports the regional power grid, but also serves as an emergency backup for customers in case of a grid failure.
