Norwood Electric Rates to Increase 25.5% Following Boston Edison Wholesale Hike-November 15, 1972

Selectmen Vote 3-2 to Pass Along Wholesale Cost Pressures Effective January 1 While Escrowing Funds Pending Federal Power Commission Hearings

NORWOOD – Confronting severe financial pressure from rising bulk power costs, the Board of Selectmen announced a sweeping electricity rate increase during a municipal meeting following a lengthy closed-door session with Electric Superintendent William J. Kates. Effective January 1, overall electric rates for Norwood consumers will increase by an average of 25.5 percent.

The rate restructuring represents the municipal light department’s local distribution of a staggering 36 percent wholesale rate increase levied by Boston Edison against municipal power companies. While the Boston Edison hike translates to a 48.8 percent cost increase for the municipal electric department, town officials structured the local tariff so that residential users will absorb a 20 percent increase, while large commercial and industrial users will face a steeper 35 percent hike.

Divided Board Vote and Escrow Account Provisions

The final decision to implement the 25.5 percent overall rate adjustment passed on a narrow 3-2 vote by selectmen, with Joseph W. Wall and John F. Lydon dissenting against the hike.

Earlier, town officials had discussed an alternative rate schedule that would have boosted homeowner rates by 20 percent while driving industrial increases up by 35 percent. Selectmen emphasized that even with the new adjustments, Norwood consumers will continue paying rates approximately 5 percent lower than Boston Edison’s direct retail rates charged to outside communities. Furthermore, because municipal officials successfully petitioned the Federal Power Commission (FPC) to delay the implementation date from June to January, all increased revenue collected under the new rates will be paid directly into an escrow fund pending formal FPC adjudication hearings scheduled to begin on February 13.

Historical Precedent and Municipal Power Challenges

The looming rate hike compounds financial strains from an earlier 1970 Boston Edison wholesale rate jump of 21 percent, which resulted in a 10 percent increase for local residents—a dispute that remarkably remains tied up in escrow litigation before federal regulators. Town officials noted that Norwood previously investigated purchasing cheaper power from the New England Electric System of Westboro to bypass Boston Edison’s escalating costs, highlighting the difficult position in which repeated wholesale hikes have placed the municipal light department.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger