Standard Offer Service Ends March 1

02/04/2005

Hampton, NH - (February 4, 2005): Unitil Corporation (AMEX: UTL) www.unitil.com announced today that, with the end of Standard Offer Service in Massachusetts on March 1, 2005, its electric customers remaining on Standard Offer Service will move to Default Service, resulting in bill impacts ranging from minus 0.9% to plus 6.4% depending on rate class and usage.

A typical residential customer using 500kWh per month will see their bill increase from $71.92 to $75.65, or 5.2%.

Customers who are currently on Default Service or Competitive Supplier Service are unaffected by this change.

In March, 1998, the Massachusetts Legislature enacted electric industry restructuring, which required that electric energy delivery services be unbundled from electric energy supplier services, enabling customers to choose a competitive supplier. For any customer that did not or could not choose a competitive supplier, the utility provided two supply services - Standard Offer Service and a market priced Default Service. As provided in the 1998 legislation, Standard Offer Service was available for a period of seven years, ending in February, 2005.

Unitil is a public utility holding company with subsidiaries providing electric service in New Hampshire, electric and gas service in Massachusetts and energy services throughout the Northeast.

 

Contact
Stephanye Schuyler
schuyler@unitil.com

Corporate Office
Liberty Lane West
Hampton, NH 03842-1720
800/999-6501