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The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission has approved $28 million in winter electric bill relief, delivering credits to more than 450,000 residential accounts, Gov. Dan McKee announced Thursday.

Rhode Island Energy residential customers on A-16 and A-60 accounts will receive a $20.45 credit in January, February and March 2027 — $61.35 total. The money comes from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction reserves, redirected under the energy affordability emergency McKee declared July 23 in response to an expected double-digit increase in winter supply rates.

Those credits stack on top of roughly $14 a month starting in October under the hold-harmless settlement tied to PPL’s acquisition of Narragansett Electric. Combined, residential customers would see about $34 a month across the three winter months, or more than $100 over the period.

The administration says the two efforts together amount to nearly $200 million in energy bill relief.

“This summer, we took unprecedented emergency action because families needed relief, and today we are delivering on that commitment,” McKee said.

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...