McKee declares Rhode Island energy-affordability emergency ahead of anticipated winter electricity increase

Gov. Daniel McKee on July 23 declared a statewide energy-affordability emergency in Rhode Island, directing the use of available state resources and emergency authority to mitigate an anticipated double-digit increase in winter residential electricity supply rates.

The action, Executive Order 26-05, is an executive declaration rather than a final electricity-rate determination. It identifies rising electricity costs and growing utility-bill delinquency as the basis for state intervention ahead of the winter period.

What the executive order does

The order declares that an energy-affordability emergency exists across Rhode Island. It directs state action under available emergency authority and calls for the use of available state resources to provide ratepayer relief and mitigate the expected winter price spike.

McKee’s order specifically cites an impending double-digit increase in residential electricity supply rates for the winter. The order does not state a final winter supply rate, however, and it does not attach a precise dollar value to any relief that may result from the emergency action.

The distinction is significant for electric customers: the declaration signals that the state intends to respond to the anticipated increase, but it is not itself a utility tariff or a guarantee that every household will receive direct assistance.

Costs and arrears cited in the order

Executive Order 26-05 describes Rhode Island’s electricity costs as among the highest in the country. It says the state has the nation’s fourth-highest average retail electricity price, at more than 85% above the national average.

The order also says residential electricity rates increased by more than 25% over three years. Those increases have coincided with a rise in overdue household electric accounts, according to the order.

Residential electric accounts that were at least 90 days in arrears increased by more than 40% since May 2023, the order says. The emergency declaration frames those deeply delinquent accounts as part of the affordability problem the state seeks to address before winter supply rates rise.

The order cites multiple energy-market and regional factors in discussing electricity costs. It does not assign the anticipated rate increase to a single cause.

What remains unresolved

The July 23 order establishes the state’s emergency posture, but it leaves key implementation details open. It does not establish the final winter residential supply rate, identify a specific amount of ratepayer assistance, or state that all Rhode Island electric customers will receive aid.

Any later action affecting rates or the amount and timing of relief would need to be evaluated on its own terms. The source record does not provide a deadline for subsequent agency action or a confirmed schedule for any Public Utilities Commission proceeding.

Rhode Island’s official executive-order index listed Executive Order 26-05 as an active order dated July 23 as of July 29. For households facing electricity bills, the practical effect of the declaration will depend on the state actions taken under the order and on any later determinations concerning winter supply rates or ratepayer-relief measures.

Statewide action before winter

The order applies statewide, placing the response within the governor’s emergency authority rather than limiting it to a particular utility service area or group of customers. It focuses on residential ratepayers facing the anticipated winter supply-rate increase and on households already carrying overdue electric balances.

McKee’s declaration does not resolve the underlying rates cited in the order. Instead, it authorizes and directs a state response intended to lessen the effect of the expected increase, while leaving the final scale, timing and distribution of any relief to subsequent action.

Sources

• Executive Order 26-05: Declaring an Energy Affordability Emergency and Providing Ratepayer Relief to Mitigate Winter Price Spike, Office of the Governor of Rhode Island
• The Governor’s Executive Orders, Office of the Governor of Rhode Island