Residents May Soon See Unitil Rate Hike

Unitil, which provides utility service in Hampton and North Hampton, announced Monday it has filed for a change in its natural gas rates.

Unitil said it wants to raise $5.2 million more in revenue, an increase of about 9 percent. The rate change is subject to approval by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission.

A Unitil official said customer costs will not be "appreciably" affected.

"Currently, natural gas is approximately half the cost of oil, and our proposed rate case will not appreciably impact the cost advantage our customers enjoy," said Unitil Chief Financial Officer Mark Collin in a statement. "This rate case will provide an opportunity to bring revenues in line with current operating expenses and rate base, allowing us to continue to improve and expand Unitil gas distribution system in New Hampshire to meet the state’s growing demand for natural gas."

Unitil said the rate change would help "the recovery of costs" for improvements to its gas distribution system that it's planning over the next several years.