The New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) Board of Directors has approved a rate increase effective with bills rendered November 1. The increase will result in an overall bill increase of 14.2%, or $12.69 per month, for a typical residential member using 500 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month.

The rate increase will be in effect for the winter period, which ends April 30, 2017. Driving the rate changes are increases in the Regional Access Charge and Co-op Power portions of members’ bills.

The same conditions that have caused New England electric rates to spike for the past four winters are still to blame for this latest seasonal increase. The driver of winter electric prices is the cost of natural gas delivery into New England. Nearly half of the electricity produced in New England is generated by natural gas.

Though the price of natural gas at the wellhead remains relatively low, a continuing lack of adequate gas pipeline capacity into New England means that power producers will be competing again this winter with home heating for limited natural gas supplies. This causes a significant winter increase in the price of natural gas delivered to New England, which corresponds to an increase in the price of wholesale electricity.

NHEC is encouraging members to mitigate the effects of higher winter rates by conserving and, when possible, participating in NHEC’s Energy Solutions programs. Energy efficiency improvements can help members save energy and money year-round.

NHEC provides a full slate of energy saving opportunities for residential, commercial, and municipal members. Complete details are available online at NHEC.com/energysolutions. Members can also view and manage their electric usage on SmartHub, NHEC’s online home for account management, at NHEC.com.

NHEC is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving 84,000 homes and businesses in 115 New Hampshire communities, including 1,279 in Andover.