CMP customers will pay slightly less for electricity next year. It might not last. [Video]

Electricity bills will decline slightly for customers of Central Maine Power Co. after state regulators on Tuesday approved 2025 rates that reflect stable natural gas prices, the main driver of power generation in New England.

With global energy markets in flux, low prices may not last.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission approved a standard offer rate – the default supply price for nine of 10 home and small-business customers who don’t contract for electricity with competitive energy providers – of 10.61 cents a kilowatt-hour, down from 10.64 cents a kWh. A customer who uses an average of 550 kWh a month would pay about $58.36, down just 16 cents from the current rate. The standard offer accounts for half of a customer’s monthly bill. CMP serves about 635,000 customers.

PUC Chairman Philip L. Bartlett II acknowledged the pace of inflation that has boosted prices on virtually all goods and services.

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