Hampton, NH - August 4, 2003 - Unitil Corporation (AMEX: UTL) (www.unitil.com) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company (FG&E) filed for an increase in its Standard Offer electric rates with the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy (MDTE). If approved by the MDTE, the proposed rates will go into effect September 1, 2003.
The rate increase reflects higher market prices over the past 12 months for natural gas and oil, which are used to generate electricity.
The proposed rate for Standard Offer Service will increase from $0.05602 per kWh to $0.06124 per kWh. This rate change will result in an increase of $2.61 per month, or 3.9%, for a Standard Offer residential customer using 500 kWh per month, resulting in a total monthly bill of $68.84.
National Grid, Commonwealth Electric Company and Cambridge Electric also filed for Standard Offer Service increases with the MDTE today.
Standard Offer Service is available from FG&E under a standard tariff for any customer of record at March 1, 1998, who has not received energy supply from a competitive supplier. Roughly 68% of Unitil/FG&E's electric customers are on Standard Offer Service. The Standard Offer price is based upon a fixed contract price each year, adjusted by an index factor for the market price of generation fuels such as natural gas and oil.
The 32% of FGE customers who have their own energy supplier or who take electric default service are not affected by this increase.
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
