Fitchburg, MA (September 17, 2003) - Unitil Corporation (AMEX: UTL) announced today that its subsidiary Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company (FG&E) filed a request to decrease its Cost of Gas Adjustment rates with the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy (MDTE). Pending MDTE approval, the proposed rates would go into effect November 1, 2003.
The rate decrease is caused by a drop in the cost of gas supply. Customers who are purchasing their gas from another supplier will not be affected by this decrease.
A typical residential heating customer using 150 therms per month in the winter would see a bill of $183.19. This is a decrease of $28.52 or 13.5% from last winter's rates at the end of the season and a decrease of $6.27 or 3.3% from current summer rates. Similar decreases would be seen for business customers.
Cost of Gas Adjustment (CGA) rates in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are normally adjusted every six months to reflect changes in wholesale supply costs incurred by the local distribution company to provide gas to its customers. CGA rates are initially based on estimates, and then reconciled to actual costs at the end of the period, with interest on over- or under-collections. These gas supply costs are recovered without profit or mark-up by the local distribution company. Unitil/FG&E's goal is to provide the lowest overall costs at stable prices and to minimize over- or under-collections in any given period.
Unitil is a public utility holding company with subsidiaries providing electric service in New Hampshire, electric and gas service in Massachusetts and energy services throughout the Northeast. Its subsidiaries include, Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company, Unitil Energy Systems, Inc., Unitil Power Corp., Unitil Realty Corp., Unitil Service Corp. and its unregulated business unit Unitil Resources, Inc. Usource L.L.C. is a subsidiary of Unitil Resources, Inc. The Usource product line of Internet-based energy brokering and related products and services is available at www.usourceonline.com.
For more information, visit Unitil at www.unitil.com or call Stephanye Schuyler at 603-773-6465.
Contact
Stephanye Schuyler
schuyler@unitil.com
Corporate Office
Liberty Lane West
Hampton, NH 03842-1720
800/999-6501
