Will electricity prices come down as much as they went up?
BOSTON - We have been getting a lot of questions about energy prices after they went up for the winter months. The saying is, what goes up must come down, but what about your electric bill?
Carl Cramm asked, "Will prices come down as much as they went up?"
Diane P asked, "What kind of profits are these energy companies making?"
Carl Cramm is the IT guy at a small heating company. He's wired to get answers. "It's nice to see somebody asking questions," Cramm said.
Carl also loves data. "So, I have a spreadsheet for everything," Cramm said smiling.
In fact, he has kept a spreadsheet of his electric bills since 2010. "In the years I've had a house, I've never seen it increase so dramatically so quickly," Cramm said.
For homeowners it was an expensive winter. Every kilowatt was a killer.
Eversource doubled rates on January 1 from 12 cents per kilowatt-hour to 24 cents. A 100% increase.
In November, National Grid went from 14 cents to 33 cents. A 135% increase.
It was the supply and demand for natural gas because of the war in Ukraine we were told. But it was a mild winter and now supplies look pretty good.
James Daly is the vice president of energy supply for Eversource. He says prices will drop on July 1, but how much?
"They are going to be dropping back to more like 17 cents a kilowatt-hour," Daly said. "So, a very significant drop."
But that decrease is not as big as the increase, 24 cents only back to 17 cents. So, a 100% hike, but now only a 30% drop.
Daly says there's still some volatility in the natural gas market. "They're forecasting an increased demand going forward," Daly said.
National Grid, which went from 14 cents to 33 cents last fall, went right back to 14 cents on Monday.
Another viewer asked about profits. In 2022, Eversource profits were $1.4 billion, a 15% jump. National Grid, which also does business in England, had profits of $2.6 billion for just the six months ending in September.
"When it goes up, people naturally start questioning you know who's making money here, but it's not us," Daly said. "We don't make anything on the energy piece."
But energy companies do make money on the delivery part of your bill. The transformers, the substations and transmission lines. To keep those operating, Eversource gets a return on its investment, a pretty good return.
"I'd say, 'hey congratulations you really know how to run a company,'" Cramm said.
They are answers for our friend Carl but still, he's not convinced that he isn't being gouged.
"You talk to anybody, and I think it's one of the top contenders for frustration in Massachusetts right now," Cramm said.
If you have a question you'd like us to look into, please email questioneverything@cbsboston.com.
