Bay State Gas raises rates, but bills will go down

By Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has given Bay State Gas Co. the go-ahead to raise distribution rates by $19 million -- about half of what the company originally requested.

That increase, which took effect Sunday, Nov. 1, will mean an extra $6 per month for the typical residential heating customer. However, according to a statement from the public utlities department, monthly customer bills are actually expected to shrink by $29 because of a decrease in what the company pays for natural gas.

The Department of Public Utilites also approved a proposal by Bay State Gas to "decouple," or eliminate the link between gas distribution sales and company earnings. That means Bay State Gas will restructure the way it charges customers -- who pay more if they consume more -- so that it doesn't go against the company's interest to help customers conserve. The utilities department ordered all utilties to decouple last year.