National Grid Seeks 23.6 Percent Electricity Rate Hike This Winter

National Grid is asking the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission to approve a 23.6 percent rate increase for electricity customers here in the Ocean State.

The increase, if approved -- and chances are it will -- would bring a monthly bill to $109 from $88 on average, according to National Grid.

The reason for the increase?

The utility told state regulators in its filing that despite the plentiful supply of natural gas, the infrastructure to deliver gas power generation facilities is constrained.

Only two pipelines serve New England and both are at capacity. That has put pressure on gas prices because more and more of the region’s power is being generated by natural gas burning power plants. The increased demand for gas in the winter has in turn made electricity more expensive to generate.

“The supply is there. We simply can’t get the gas here,” Michael LaFlamme, National Grid vice president for regulation and pricing in New England told the Providence Journal.

The proposed increase follows the utility’s 37 percent increase approved in Massachusetts.

The rate increase would go into effect Jan. 1 and would most likely decrease on June 30.