Third party electric supply companies are allowed to solicit utility customers in our service territories. These solicitations refer to the “supply” rate of your bill, which is only one portion of the overall rate utility customers pay. State regulations require that utilities get fresh bids from energy providers every six months, and this supply rate, which reflects the current market cost to actually make the electricity, changes every six months. We obtain new bids from energy providers bi-annually.

Third party suppliers are allowed to get bids on electricity outside of this cycle. Think of them as like a broker; the rate they offer would replace this specific portion of the overall rate for whatever length of time a customer agrees to. Unitil would still be your electric provider, however, and you would still call us if the power goes out so we can send a crew.

As a company, we support the idea that our customers should explore all options available and that they are free to make a decision on an energy contract that is right for them.

If you or a family member uses electrically-operated life support systems, we encourage you to notify Unitil in advance of any outages by submitting our Physician’s Certification Form found here via email, fax or mail. Once we receive this form, your account will be noted and we will include a notification to you in the event that we anticipate adverse weather or a scheduled outage which may result in a power outage. Click here for more information.

We've centralized all of our outage information in a section on our site called the Outage Center. Here you'll find links to the latest news, public service announcements and outage updates for our customers, as well as general information on seasonal storm preparation, power restoration and being prepared for extended outages. 

We also have dedicated resources and information for municipal contacts in the communities we serve here.

Hazard, or danger trees, are dead or dying trees or limbs that pose a threat to our electrical facilities.  We make every effort to identify and remove these trees at the earliest possible stage.

If you have requested trimming service from us, we will visit your property for a survey. If the trees in question are encroaching on any power equipment or clearances, or pose a significant threat to the system, we will work with you to remove them.

Generally, your budget billing monthly payment amount will change once or twice within the year. These adjustments are made to your payment amount to prevent you from having a large amount due or credit balance at the end of the program year. Prior to our changing your payment amount, we will include a note on your bill to make you aware of the new amount, which will appear on your next bill. The decision to change your payment amount is based on several factors. While we try to limit the number of adjustments, your payment amount may change when:

• The price of electricity and/or natural gas changes
• Warmer or colder temperatures mean you will use more or less energy to heat or cool your home
• Your monthly usage has changed compared to prior usage history that was used for calculating your payment amount
• You have purchased or replaced appliances

The Budget Billing Program is a free service available to all residential customers. Your account must be current with no overdue balance.

You may enroll anytime provided your bill is current. Our Questions & Comments form makes the process convenient. Simply select "Budget Request" from the picklist before submitting and one of our Customer Service representatives will review your account for eligibility.