The Pascoag Utility District – Electric Division is pleased to announce that the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has approved rate changes for the District, to be implemented on February 1st, which will provide a net decrease in power bills for the remainder of 2013. Although the decision allows for an increase in base rates which covers the District’s operating expenses and capital costs, which have not been increased since 2004, the PUC also approved a dramatic decrease in power costs captured in our Standard Offer Service component. As an example, a typical residential customer using 500 kWh in a month will see an overall monthly decrease of $5.00, or 7.3%, compared to the same usage last year. In large part, this overall decrease is based on the favorable power supply procurement policies the District has put in place over these past several years and the availability of lower cost generation.