Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha has asked Rhode Island Energy to fully compensate consumers as agreed during the 2022 sale of The Narragansett Electric Company. In a recent filing with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Neronha stated that Rhode Island Energy’s proposed bill credits may not meet the amount owed to ratepayers, with a possible shortfall of up to $39 million.
The issue began with the 2022 approval by the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers (DPUC) of the sale of Narragansett Electric from National Grid to Rhode Island Energy. As part of the sale, Rhode Island Energy made a ‘Hold Harmless Commitment’ to ensure that ratepayers would not face higher costs from the transaction, especially regarding changes to Accumulated Deferred Income Taxes (ADIT).
Rhode Island Energy recently proposed to meet this commitment by issuing bill credits in the winters of 2026 and 2027. The company calculated the total nominal value owed to ratepayers through 2062 at about $241 million. By applying its Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) as a discount rate, the company reduced the present value of this amount to about $148.7 million…