Frequently Asked Questions

The electric revenue meter needs to be owned, installed, and maintained by the electric utility. Installing a second meter behind the utility meter, owned by the customer, is the customer’s option.

In order to Net Meter, you must first apply to interconnect a generating facility through Unitil. We recommend you apply for interconnection prior to purchasing any equipment, since some modifications to the electric system may be necessary and paid for by the customer. When applying to interconnect, you should indicate if you are interested in Net Metering. Net Metering rules are defined by the state government and are different in each state, therefore, you should reference the your state's website.

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.

Unitil’s electric customers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire have the option to take supply service from Unitil or purchase their electricity from competitive suppliers. This supply portion of your bill is only one portion of the overall rate that utility customers pay.

All of Unitil’s residential, commercial and industrial natural gas customers also may choose the company that supplies their natural gas – a right often referred to as customer choice. Your options will vary depending on your state.

Time-of-Use (TOU) rates have different electricity prices based on the time of day electricity is used. Customers can manage their bills by shifting tasks that require electricity to off-peak hours when electricity costs are the lowest. Learn more about Time-of-Use rates here. 

Unitil supports the adoption of Time-of-Use Rates as a method to both increase electric vehicle usage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our service territories.

Time-of-Use Rates are designed to drive consumer behavior to use the majority of their energy during off-peak hours. This change in energy consumption patterns is a great way for customers to save money on their monthly electric bills – and also provides a larger benefit to the entire distributed energy system at a time when energy use continues to grow at an exponential rate and utilities are finding ways to continue to meet demand.

To take full advantage of the Time-of-Use Rates, we encourage any subscribers to shift their large energy usage habits to off-peak times. A consumer who does not reduce their on-peak usage may see no savings.

If you don't feel confident you can shift your heavy usage from 3 - 8 pm to after 8 pm or onto weekends, continuing with the standard rate may be your best choice. 

Visit our rate comparison calculator to see if these rates are a good fit for your lifestyle.

We aren't able to combine net metering and Whole House Time-of-Use. We suggest that customers who generate their own power continue to benefit from their solar panels and remain on net metering rather than forgoing their solar panels and switching to Time-of-Use.

A current solar-generation customer can choose an Electric Vehicle Time-of-Use rate as long as the generation from the solar is not attached to the dedicated EV Time-of-Use meter. This may only make sense if you generate just enough power for your home and plan to charge your EV from the grid. Give us a call if you are on the fence. 

All holiday* and weekend hours are billed at the off-peak rates no matter the time of day. All non-holiday weekdays follow the schedule below:

• Mid-Peak: 6 am - 3 pm: Rate is typically around the standard rate
• On-Peak: 3 pm - 8 pm: Rate is typically higher than the standard rate
• Off-Peak: 8 pm - 6 am: Rate is typically lower than the standard rate.

* Holidays:

New Hampshire customers adhere to holidays observed by the State of New Hampshire pursuant to NH RSA 288:1. Find the full holiday list at www.gencourt.state.nh.us.

Massachusetts customers adhere to holidays observed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Find the full holiday list at www.sec.state.ma.us.

Time-of-Use rates are available to electric customers only.

Electric Vehicle Time-of-Use rates: are now available to Massachusetts & New Hampshire residents and New Hampshire business customers. However, we are working to make Electric Time-of-Use rates available to our Massachusetts business customers.

Whole House Time-of-Use rates: are currently available to New Hampshire residential customers only.

Please let us know if you're interested in Time-of-Use rates whether or not you fit our current criteria.

Customers opting-in to the Time-of-Use Rates will be charged three different electric rates, depending on the time of the day the electricity is consumed. The link to the current rates, including Default service and the Time-of-Use Rates, is below. Generally speaking, consumption during ‘On-Peak’ hours is going to be charged a higher rate than current Default service, consumption during ‘Mid-Peak’ will be about the same cost as current default service, and usage during ‘Off-peak’ hours will be charged at a lower rate than current default electric rates.

Find current rates here