Peabody Residents Get 4 Percent Electricity Rate Break This Summer

PEABODY, MA — Peabody Municipal Light Plant customers will see another reduction in bills starting this month after a second rate decrease this year.

The PMLP said residential customers should see about a 4 percent rate decrease, while commercial customers will see about a 2 percent decline.

The new rate started July 1 and will be in place through September.

The PMLP said the second rate decrease will bring rates back to September 2022 levels — before rates were increased in anticipation of a wholesale fuel cost spike this winter due, in part, to inflation and the war in Ukraine.

Because of the warm winter, and other factors, that spike never fully materialized.

"While this is good news, the market remains volatile and is the driving force for the rate fluctuations we have seen in the past nine months," PMLP manager Joseph Anastasi said. "The Peabody Municipal Lighting Commission remains vigilant in stabilizing rates while planning for the future as customers move away from fossil fuels for their vehicles and HVAC needs and adopt energy-efficient alternatives."

PMLP still asks customers to conserve energy during peak summer demand periods in order to avoid strain on the grid and the need to purchase additional energy on the wholesale market.

"Reducing the peak load on the electric grid is everyone's responsibility," Anastasi said. "Raising the temperature set point on your air conditioner a few degrees while fitting your family's schedule and staying comfortable, lowering window shades, using fans to supplement air conditioning, and using cold water to wash clothes, will make a difference."

PMLP advised that unplugging chargers and other unused devices also reduces the load and saves money.

Those with questions are invited to pose them online here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)