GMP Agrees To Cut Rates 2.5 Percent

A new settlement will reduce rates for Green Mountain Power customers by about 2.5 percent beginning in October.

The agreement was reached late last week between the Shumlin Administration, GMP, Associated Industries of Vermont, and IBM, whose manufacturing plant outside of Burlington is the utility’s largest customers.

The deal calls for a 1.46 percent rate cut, plus an additional 1 percent reduction due to an earlier revenue sharing agreement between the state and the owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.

A key component of the agreement also freezes IBM’s rates at this level for the next three years.

GMP is Vermont’s dominant power company. Gov. Peter Shumlin praised the settlement as evidence that the recent merger between GMP and Central Vermont Public Service Corporation was delivering savings to customers.

“At a time when other states in our region are seeing double digit increases in power costs, Vermonters are going to see rates go down this year,” Shumlin said in a statement. “This rate decrease is great news for Vermont. The agreement provides stability and predictability for one of our most valued employers, and helps ensure that Vermont maintains a thriving center of innovation and technology well into the future.”

The rate cut still needs to be approved by the Public Service Board. The board is expected to review the agreement over the next few months.