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Holden electricity rates to go down as Seabrook debt is paid off
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Posted Dec. 22, 2015 at 5:55 PM
Updated Dec 22, 2015 at 6:31 PM
HOLDEN - At the start of the new year, customers of Holden Municipal Light Co. will find some pleasant news in their light bills, and that trend may continue into the near future.
As of Jan. 1, electric rates for all of the utility's customers will be reduced by three-quarters of a cent per kilowatt-hour. For residential customers who use 600 kilowatt-hours per month, the savings would be $4.50 per month on their bills. The rate reduction for non-residential customers who use 10,000 kilowatt-hours per month, the monthly savings would be $75.
Light company General Manager James S. Robinson said the reduction is partly because of lower fossil fuel costs, but mainly from the retiring of debt owed for the building of the Seabrook nuclear power plant.
"We're finally paying it off," he said.
Mr. Robinson said Holden, as a member of the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co., owns a piece of both the Seabrook Station nuclear plant in Seabrook, New Hampshire, and the Millstone Unit 3 nuclear plant in Waterford, Connecticut. He said Seabrook began generating power in 1990, but Holden has been invested in the plant since the 1970s when it was first being built. MMWEC as a whole owns 11.59 percent of Seabrook, or 144 of the 1,244 megawatts the plant produces.
"We've been involved from the beginning," he said.
Mr. Robinson said paying off the Seabrook debt should mean significant decreases in costs for the Holden utility in 2016 and 2017. He said he is not ready to suggest the possibility of future rate decreases, but this coming year ratepayers will benefit.
The reduction amounts to about a 5 percent decrease in electric rates. Mr. Robinson said the current rate for the average rate payer is $13.75 per kilowatt-hour. It would drop to $13. The reduced rate will cut revenues for the light company, but still pay expenses through fiscal 2019. The top 20 customers served by the Holden Municipal Light Co. will save about $200,000 per year, according to Mr. Robinson.
At $67.27 per month for 500 kilowatt-hours, Holden is on the lower end of the rates for utilities serving communities in Central Massachusetts. The highest rate of the 12 utilities in Central Massachusetts, according to a chart provided by the light company to the Holden Board of Selectmen, is Princeton at $121.48 and the lowest is Boylston at $59. Other communities with rates lower than Holden are Shrewsbury, at $62.98 and West Boylston at $62.64.
The Holden rates last changed in July 2014 to recover high power costs from the previous winter, but have remained stable in 2015. In the light company's 2016 operating budget, revenues are set at $14,052,627, with expenses slightly lower at $14,036,204, for net income of $16,423.
Paul working for you.
Friday, December 25, 2015
Holden electricity rates to go down
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As Templeton light has paid off the same debt the only thing we see is the rates stay the same. We could say we told you so. As the handout at the town meeting said and so they will raise your rates. Have you looked at the rates? With the cheaper solar and debt paid off one would need to wonder what they are doing with the extra piles of money. Raises,Trucks,SUVs,How about a new heating system for the old building their in.What should Templeton light dept.do to be able to get the costs under some kind of control? Mr. Robinson said paying off the Seabrook debt should mean significant decreases in costs for the Holden utility in 2016 and 2017. He said he is not ready to suggest the possibility of future rate decreases, but this coming year ratepayers will benefit. To start with as we were told time and time again at the commission meetings the rates we pay are mostly nuclear and will pay off both now and later when the debt is paid off. Every year we have some paid off but the rates have stayed the same? What do they do with the extra money? As the last paragraph shows above the net income for Holden has has a true manager behind it.Templeton light is being run as a for profit dept for it's own profit. No posting of financials are a way to keep things quiet. It would be nice to see the pilot payment Holden does for their town. I'll bet it's not something the town has to fight for,like Templeton used to.
ReplyDeleteAs Princeton pays the highest rates just think about the wind turbine we have and they have two sister of ours. When will it turn and produce a profit. Do our bill reflect the poor decision to purchase it and now we will loose all the cheaper nuclear power after the debt has been paid off. When will we all start to watch whats going on at TMLWP closer? Or should i ask will we ever?
I do but there are very few others who do.
Watch your BILLS!!!!
Among other things, the PSAs require each Project Participant to pay its
ReplyDeletepro rata share of MMWEC’s costs related to the Project, which costs include debt service on the revenue bonds issued by MMWEC to finance the Project, plus 10%
of MMWEC’s debt service to be paid into a Reserve and Contingency Fund. In addition, should a Project Participant fail to make any payment when due, other Project Participants of that Project may be required to increase (step-up) their payments
and correspondingly their Participant’s share of that Project’s Capability to an additional amount not to exceed 25% of their original Participant’s share of that Project’s Project Capability.
The Wind Energy Cooperative issues are for two municipal bonds,issued in October and December of 2009 to finance the 1.65 megawatt wind turbine at Templeton’s w
ReplyDeleteind farm in Baldwinville, Massachusetts. Principal amounts at inception were $993,750 and $2,116,000. The amount payable on these bonds at December 31, 2014
and 2013 was $1,819,375 and $2,051,000, respectively.
Ever wonder how a bond goes from 993,750 to 1,819,375. respectively?
"We're finally paying it off,"
ReplyDelete?