Rhode Island
R.I. Energy’s seasonal electric rate hikes will be partially offset by $27M refund
Rhode Island Energy customers will see their monthly electricity bills increase by about 23% starting Oct. 1 under new rates approved by utility regulators. (Getty Images)
In the end, the much-maligned winter electric rate hikes won’t be as burdensome as initial calculations suggested, thanks to a nearly $27 million refund distributed to Rhode Island Energy customers.
Still, the 500,000 state residents who opt to get their electricity from Rhode Island Energy — rather than an outside supplier — will see their electric bills go up starting Oct. 1, under seasonal rate hikes approved by the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission on Thursday.
Based on calculations submitted by Rhode Island Energy, the average residential customer will see their monthly electric bill increase about 23%, or $31. Business and industrial customers would also see their bills rise, with the increase dependent upon usage.
The seasonal, six-month increase is not unexpected; rates typically increase in the winter due to higher demand and limited supply. State law prevents Rhode Island Energy, the primary utility provider for the state, from profiting off the energy it purchases from third-party suppliers.
The upcoming rate hikes are also slightly lower than rates from last winter.
And, customers will also get separate bill credits to refund them for the $27 million they were overcharged by the company in 2023 due to accounting errors.
For most residential customers, the refund will be given as a one-time credit of $68.60 on their December bills. Low-income customers will get an even higher refund of roughly $140, spread out in monthly installments of $23.47 from November 2024 through April 2025.
The extra refund for customers who qualify for income-restricted government assistance programs attempts to ease the pain for the state’s most vulnerable residents, many of whom are already struggling to afford basic needs. The impact of higher winter utility bills on low income families was the central focus of a public hearing on Sept. 9, in which critics, including affected residents, lamented the increasing costs of food, rent and utilities.
“I think this is the fairest way to do it,” Commission Chairman Ron Gerwatowski said Thursday.
Commercial and industrial customers will also get a one-time refund on their bills, with the amount based on usage.
Customers in seven municipalities — Barrington, Central Falls, Narragansett, Newport, Portsmouth, Providence, and South Kingstown — can opt out of Rhode Island Energy electric prices and participate instead in a community aggregation plan that leverages bulk buying power to secure lower-priced electricity for its residents.
Good Energy, the consultant hired to coordinate the community aggregation plan for participating municipalities in Rhode Island, was not immediately available to comment on its upcoming winter rates on Friday. State regulators do not have any role in the contracts between municipalities and energy suppliers, or the agreed-upon rates.
Rhode Island Energy did not immediately return inquiries for comment Friday.
Separately, the company has also proposed higher natural gas rates, which, if approved, would take effect Nov. 1. The proposal, which translates to a nearly $42 increase for the average residential customer’s annual bill, remains under review by state regulators.
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Vigil in Lippitt Park for victims of mass shooting at Brown University
See the Dec. 14, 2025 vigil in Lippitt Park following the mass shooting at Brown University.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, along with Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and others, announced Dec. 14 that they were releasing the person of interest originally detained for the mass shooting at Brown University.
Neronha said that tips “led to us detaining a person of interest,” but that the evidence “now points in a different direction.”
“We have a murderer out there, frankly,” Neronha said.
As attorney general, Neronha and his office will play a large role in the investigation over the shooting. Here’s what to know about the top legal official in Rhode Island.
Who is Peter Neronha?
Neronha is Rhode Island’s 74th attorney general. He was sworn in on Nov. 6, 2018.
As attorney general, Neronha leads an office that “prosecutes criminal cases; represents state agencies, departments and commissions in litigation; initiates legal action when necessary to protect the interests of Rhode Islanders; and oversees the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation,” according to his office.
Previously, Neronha was the United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island from 2009 to 2017. He was appointed by former President Barack Obama.
He began his career in public service as a Rhode Island Special Assistant Attorney General in 1996. He was later appointed Assisted Attorney General, and then joined United States Attorney’s Office as an Assistant United States Attorney in 2002.
Neronha is a fourth generation native of Jamestown, Rhode Island. He has undergraduate and law degrees from Boston College.
Neronha’s relationship to Trump
During President Donald Trump’s second term, Neronha has sued the president and his administration over 40 times.
Some of the lawsuits that he has co-led include ones over withheld education funds and the dismantling of federal agencies like Health and Human Services and those that support public libraries and museums.
Neronha often criticizes the president in his lawsuits. In a press release announcing a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration Nov. 25 for reducing grant funds for projects that could help people experiencing homelessness, Neronha said that the administration continues to “punch down” on vulnerable Americans.
“The President and his Administration don’t care about making life easier or better for Americans; they only care about political capitulation, consolidating power, and further enriching the wealthy,” he said.
In a press conference earlier this year, Neronha said that he sues the Trump administration when the president has broken the law, when Americans have been harmed and when they have the legal standing to bring an action against the administration.
While it’s unclear if Trump has ever commented on Neronha specifically, he has often attacked judges who have tried to block his policies.
The Rhode Island Blood Center is asking for donations after the fatal shooting at Brown University on Saturday.
Several donor centers have extended hours available as they respond to the emergency.
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Anyone interested can sign up for an appointment on the organization’s website.
PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Blood Center’s blood supply was low before Saturday’s mass shooting at Brown University, and it is immediately stepping up blood drives to meet the need, an official said Sunday.
“We were definitely dealing with some issues with inventory going into the incident,” Executive Director of Blood Operations Nicole Pineault said.
The supply was especially low for Type 0 positive and negative, which are often needed for mass casualty incidents, she said. Type 0 negative is considered the “universal” red blood donor, because it can be safely given to patients of any blood type.
Pineault attributed the low supply to weather, illness, and the lingering effects of the pandemic. With more people working from home, blood drives at office buildings are smaller, and young people — including college students — are not donating blood at the same rate as they did in the past, she said.
“There are a lot challenges,” she said.
But people can help by donating blood this week, Pineault said, suggesting they go to ribc.org or contact the Rhode Island Blood Center at (401) 453-8383 or (800) 283-8385.
The donor room at 405 Promenade St. in Providence is open seven days a week, Pineault said. Blood drives were already scheduled for this week at South Street Landing in Providence and at Brown Physicians, and the blood center is looking to add more blood drives in the Providence area this week, she said.
“It breaks my heart,” Pineault said of the shooting. “It’s a terrible tragedy. We run blood dives regularly on the Brown campus. Our heart goes out to all of the victims and the staff. We want to work with them to get the victims what they need.”
She said she cannot recall a similar mass shooting in Rhode Island.
“In moments of tragedy, it’s a reminder to the community how important the blood supply really is,” Pineault said. “It’s an easy way to give back, to help your neighbors, and be ready in unfortunate situations like this.”
The Rhode Island Blood Center has donor centers in Providence, Warwick, Middletown, Narragansett, and Woonsocket, and it has mobile blood drives, she noted.
On Sunday, the center’s website said “Donors urgently needed. Hours extended at some donor centers, 12/14.”
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.
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