Peabody Utility Bills To Decrease 15 Percent Amid Wholesale Price Drop

PEABODY, MA — Peabody residents can thank a warm winter for a 15 percent reduction in utility races, according to Peabody Municipal Light Plant officials.

The public utility said on Tuesday that the upcoming decrease "effectively negates" a 16 percent increase of Jan. 1 that was put in place because of the instability of global energy prices and uncertainty about winter supply.

But the mild winter led to a decrease in demand and a minimization of anticipated price spikes.

"This winter was a hard one to predict, with the war in Ukraine disrupting the availability of gas which has the potential to drive up the cost," PMLP Commissioner Bill Aylward said in a release. "But we're happy to be able to say we're able to reduce bills.

"It's a refreshing change."

PMLP Manager Joe Anastasi said the utility "came close" to depleting energy reserves, but was "pleased to be able to work with the Commission to contain rates that PMLP customers pay" while riding out the relative turn in the wholesale natural gas market.

"The volatility of this market is entirely responsible for the required increase in January, and the decrease we're seeing now," he said.

Aylward said that the PMLP's energy portfolio is now "43 percent carbon-free, positioning ourselves to meet net-zero goals" and that the 2050 state climate road map target is "always in our sites" but that demand and market volatility remains a challenge.

"The recent removal of a large wind project from PMLP's plans because of project delays and changes in project finances is just another factor in developing our rate structure," Anastasi said. "We must not get discouraged. We must not give up."

(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.)