Bangor and Presque Isle, ME – Starting July 1, all Versant Power customers will see changes on their bills. Bangor Hydro District customers will see changes to stranded cost, distribution, conservation, and standard offer supply rates and customers in the Maine Public District will see changes to their stranded cost, distribution, transmission, and conservation rates.
Differences in rates by district, customer class and usage are largely due to calculations from a new bill line item, “Public Policy Charges.” Beginning July 1, the stranded cost portion of the bill will be broken out into two separate items. All customers will pay a fixed stranded cost charge, denoted on the bill as "Public Policy Charges,” as well as the existing stranded cost volumetric rate.
Public Policy Charges are applied to customers in each rate class as a means for all customers to share costs for state policy programs. This includes costs for net energy billing programs, which offer incentives for rooftop, business and community solar energy production. Versant Power does not own, control or profit from these programs and passes through to customers the amount the state requires to fund them.
Based on calculations from recently approved rates, residential customers in the Bangor Hydro District should expect to see a slight decrease to their total bill, while customers in the Maine Public District will see an increase:
- A residential customer in the Bangor Hydro District using 500 kilowatt-hours per month and paying $136.29 for delivery and standard offer supply will now pay $135.69, a 60-cent decrease. If that customer uses 750 kilowatt-hours per month, they will see a $6.72 decrease, and if they use 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month, they will see a decrease of $12.84 per month.
- A residential customer in the Maine Public District using 500 kilowatt-hours per month and paying $124.88 for delivery and standard offer supply will now pay $132.49, a $7.61 increase. If that customer uses 750 kilowatt-hours per month, they will see a $4.49 increase, and if they use 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month, they will see an increase of $1.37 per month.
The graphs below show the breakdown of the five components of a bill for an average residential customer using 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month. The largest component represents electricity supply, which Versant Power does not profit from. That amount is paid directly to generators for producing power.
Customers in the Maine Public District will see a slight decrease in transmission rates, which are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Customers in both districts will see slight increases to the conservation and distribution rate. An increase in the conservation rate is due to a higher funding level assessed for the Efficiency Maine Trust, the state entity that works with Maine customers on energy efficiency and conservation projects. The distribution increase of 32 cents for the average customer using 500 kwh per month represents a calculation based on an annual adjustment mechanism.
New rates for all customers will be posted at versantpower.com as of July 1, 2024. Customers with questions about bill changes are encouraged to call the Versant Power Customer Contact Center at 207-973-2000.