Coakley calls for audit of gas rates

National Grid originally requested a $106 million increase, which would add $5 to $15 to a typical customer’s monthly gas bill, or roughly as much as $175 a year, according to the utility. Coakley’s office said it would be the largest rate jump in state history.

The utility recently agreed to cut $800,000 from its proposal after Coakley identified what she called “inappropriate expenses’’ National Grid intended to pass on to customers, including shipping an executive’s wine collection from Great Britain to the United States, sending executives to President Obama’s inauguration, and picking up an executive’s private school tuition bill for his children.

That cut and other adjustments brought the requested rate increase to about $103 million — an amount National Grid says is needed to help cover its annual costs of distribution.

It’s the second time in recent weeks that Coakley, who is the state’s official advocate for ratepayers, has fought to lower energy prices charged by the British company. National Grid PLC’s US subsidiary is one of the Bay State’s biggest utilities.

Last month, Coakley’s office negotiated a 10 percent reduction in the price National Grid agreed to pay for electricity from Cape Wind, the controversial energy project scheduled to begin operation in 2013.

Coakley yesterday pushed for a full audit of National Grid’s rate proposal, saying she believes that there are at least $100 million more in questionable charges that should not be passed on to Massachusetts customers.

“National Grid has removed many of the inappropriate expenses that we uncovered in our review, but those costs only scratch the surface,’’ she said in a statement yesterday.

The utility first filed its request with the state Department of Public Utilities in April. Tim Shevlin, the department’s executive director, said utilities typically ask for rate adjustments like this whenever their costs go up.

That means that if the rate adjustment is approved, it could be in effect for several years.

“Sometimes they come in [looking for a rate change] in five years, in eight years . . .,’’ he said.

National Grid defended its request, saying that since 2002, it has invested $1.2 billion in its Massachusetts gas delivery system, and it needs the additional revenue to help cover such expenses.

“We believe that our proposal is in the best interest of customers because it will enable us to continue to provide safe and reliable service,’’ the utility said in a statement to the Globe. “We already have removed all costs for expatriate and officer expenses from our proposal, and we are hiring an independent firm to conduct a comprehensive review of our practices on these expenses.’’

A spokesman for one of National Grid’s labor unions cheered Coakley’s actions, saying the attorney general should not be satisfied with what the utility has already shaved from its proposed rate hike.

“That’s kind of like the bank robber who robs banks and gives the money back and says, ‘No harm,’ ’’ said Charlie Harak, a lawyer for the Utility Workers Union of America.

The union is fighting a utility plan to install video cameras inside its service vehicles, where they could be used to monitor employees. The price increase requested by National Grid included $500,000 to cover the cost of the cameras, Harak said.

Hiawatha Bray of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Erin Ailworth can be reached at eailworth@globe.com.