The Western Mass Electric company recent price hike has sent many customers searching for a new electricity supplier in order to save money on their electricity bills. The utility company, which is often abbreviated as WMECO, is the third larges utility in the state of Massachusetts and provides power to about 210,000 residential customers. On January 1, 2015 WMECO customers who were on the default generation rate structure saw a substantial rate increase of 29 percent. This increase can be lowered for those consumers who shop for and find a competitive rate being offered by a Western Mass Electric supplier.

Massachusetts electricity choice is a new concept for many of these consumers causing a wave of confusion and questions to be answered. Electricity choice in Massachusetts allows customers to shop for a competitive generation electric rate that will replace their local utility default rate for generation supply. However, the local utility company will continue to deliver power to their customers at distribution rates that are regulated by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities.

Even after a customer switches to a competitive supplier, Western Mass Electric will continue to send the customer their monthly electric bill and respond to power outages and emergencies. The only difference will be the rate for generation charges on the monthly electric bill. In response to the recent default price hike by WMECO, many competitive electricity suppliers are offering lower electricity rates to customers in order to attract new customers. To find a competitive WMECO supplier look at current rates being offered below. All companies offering electricity rates to WMECO customers are licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities.

Homes and businesses located in Boston and the surrounding areas are going to experience a sharp spike in the price they pay for electricity in January. NSTAR Electric, the utility company that delivers power to Boston consumers, recently announced a rate increase for power supply of 59.7% that will go into effect on January 1, 2015. NSTAR Electric consumers are scrambling to minimize the damage the price increase will impose by shopping for lower Boston electricity rates offered through Massachusetts electricity choice.

Similar to its neighboring states of Connecticut and New York, Massachusetts is an electricity choice state. Competitive electricity companies are able to solicit power rates to consumers throughout Massachusetts. This allows consumers to shop and try to keep their electric bills down if the market prices become lower than the utility default rate.

As the local regulated electric utility of Boston, NSTAR electric responsible for proving a default rate for electricity supply for those customers who do not shop the market for competitive electricity rates. The NSTAR default rate, labeled the price to compare, is the charge that is set to increase by 59.7% in January 2015. The December 2014 rate of $0.0938 per KWh will be increasing to $0.1498 for those NSTAR customers on the fixed default rate structure. The fixed default rate remains fixed for six month intervals, meaning that the $0.1498 rate will stay in effect through the end of June 2015. Some default paying customers on the variable rate structure will see an even bigger increase in January as those rates are set to go as high as $0.2080.

Customers can avoid the entire price increase and protect themselves from the possibility of an even bigger increase in July by locking in a low Boston electricity rate offered by a competitive supplier. All of the companies offering competitive electricity rates to NSTAR Electric customers are licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Energy.

Energy choice in the state of Massachusetts has been active for the last several years, but for the most part has remained under the radar. Educated consumers who were aware of the choice laws may have participated by locking in a low electricity rate with a competitive Massachusetts electricity supplier or even elected to purchase power derived from renewable resources through the choice market. However, for the majority, energy choice hasn’t been a concern as the competitive rates haven’t offered significant savings off of the local utility default rates; that is about to change in a big way for Massachusetts residences who receive their power from National Grid.

On November 1, 2014 National Grid electricity customers will see the rate they pay for power supply increase by as much as 100%, depending on their rate structure. The 100% increase is not a typo, many National Grid electricity customers in Massachusetts will see their monthly electric bills double due to a rate increase. The rate increase can be avoided, or managed by consumers who search for competitive residential Massachusetts electricity rates as the rate spike will only effect customers on the default basic service rate.

National Grid in Massachusetts offers a default electricity rate for those consumers who have not elected to participate in finding a competitive choice rate. The official name for the default rate is the basic service rate, and it is this rate that will be increasing on November 1, 2014. Basic service customers are either on a fixed rate structure that changes every six months, or a variable rate structure that changes every month.

Massachusetts electricity customers who are on the National Grid basic service fixed rate will see their electricity supply rate increase from $0.08277 on October 31, 2014 to $0.16273 on November 1, 2014 if they do not select a competitive electricity rate plan. The $0.16273 is set to remain in tact through April 30, 2015. Locking in a competitive fixed Massachusetts electricity rate that is lower than the $0.16272 will provide some savings right away, and may protect consumers from another rate increase that could take effect in May of 2015. Customers on the National Grid basic service variable plan do not have it much better as the expected price will get as high as $0.22067 in January 2015