SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Western Massachusetts Electric Company's medium and large commercial and industrial customers who choose Basic Service will see increased electric supply prices beginning in October as a result of the latest round of competitive bidding. Medium and large C&I customers will see a fixed rate of 8.051 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, an increase of just under a penny per kWh over the current fixed rate of 7.052 cents. 

The energy supply was solicited in the open energy marketplace for those customers who have not chosen to purchase their energy supply from a competitive supplier.  The increase in supply price reflects the projected seasonal price of energy at the time of bidding in July.

"For medium and large business customers who choose Basic Service, our role is to competitively procure the energy supply in the marketplace," said Peter Clarke, president and chief operating officer of WMECo. "We encourage business customers to seek out suppliers who may be able to offer better supply rates directly."

WMECo purchases electricity for its Basic Service customers through an open competitive bid process. Basic Service is for customers who have not chosen to purchase their electricity in the open marketplace. The competitive bid process for medium and large C&I customers occurs every three months. For residential and small business customers, the bidding is conducted every six months.

WMECo, part of the Northeast Utilities System (NYSE:NU), serves approximately 200,000 customers in 59 communities throughout Western Massachusetts. For more information: www.wmeco.com.