PEABODY — This week the Peabody Municipal Light Plant announced electric rates for the fourth quarter of 2023 — and residential customers should see little impact on their wallets.
The typical residential customer’s bill will remain stagnant at $66.99 for a customer using 500 kWh/month, while commercial customers using 2,000 kWh/month will see an increase of $1.72 or 0.6% from $300.90 to $302.62. The rate for industrial customers dipped this quarter by 1.7% — meaning a customer who uses 500 kW with a 50% load factor would see a change in their bill from $25,104.90 to $24,678.86, the utility said in a statement.
PMLP General Manager Joe Anastasi emphasized that the utility has been actively preparing for the winter season after experiencing a dramatic spike in energy prices last year.
“We have been making additional energy purchases to minimize having to pass on these cost swings to our customers,” Anastasi said in a statement.
The utility cut rates for residential and consumer customers this summer by 4% and 2% respectively, which brought rates back down to levels set last fall before the spike in energy prices.
In the statement, the Peabody Municipal Lighting Commission, which oversees the utility, said it remains committed to “four pillars of safe, reliable, cost-effective power while being environmentally sustainable.”
The utility said it would continue to monitor energy prices closely and adjust for the first quarter of 2024.
