Endless Rate Increases, RI Energy Hasn't Lived Up to Its Rhetoric

Following PPL Corporation's 2022 acquisition of Narragansett Electric to form Rhode Island Energy, ratepayers have faced massive, repetitive electricity supply rate increases that critics argue diverge from actual market deflation. Rather than passing wholesale cost savings back to consumers, the utility has maintained high rates and loaded an additional administrative fee onto bills, netting an estimated $12,000,000 annually while regulators continuously approve the hikes. Despite the state's legal right to choose energy suppliers, Rhode Island Energy allegedly maintains a dominant market share by creating digital and bureaucratic friction around the switching process, while both the utility and state regulators have resisted AI-powered tools aimed at making market data more accessible to consumers.