Substantial savings are available for Rhode Island residential electricity customers who receive their electric bill from National Grid and are still on the default price to compare rate.  Rhode Island electricity choice provides consumers the option to either pay for their power supply directly to their utility, or to purchase it from an alternative competitive supplier.  If a competitive Rhode Island electricity supplier is chosen, the rate that the supplier and customer agree to replaces the utility default price.

National Grid, the largest electric utility in Rhode Island, is currently charging $0.08179 for their default price to compare rate.  By taking the time to shop, customers can find alternative Rhode Island electricity rates that are well below the default National Grid price.  The current Rhode Island National Grid default rate will stay in effect through the end of March 2017.  Based on historical rate information, it is likely the default rate will increase in April as the Rhode Island National Grid default price has not been below $0.08 since December 2013.

Shopping for lower Rhode Island electricity rates is an easy way for consumers to lower their electricity bill without having to invest money in new equipment or undergo expensive and time consuming energy efficiency projects.  The new competitive electricity price simply replaces the National Grid default rate, with the difference producing a lower electricity bill.  Rhode Island National Grid continues to control the power lines and wires and deliver power to homes and businesses through the state through regulated distribution charges managed by the state.  While the purchase of power supply has been deregulated and open to customer choice, the delivery of that power remains regulated.  This structuring keeps the power line reliability constant while providing a dynamic market for consumers to shop and locate a rate structure that best fits demands.

Currently several competitive offers exist in Rhode Island that are below the National Grid price to compare default rate.