By Carol Britton Meyer

Hull Municipal Lighting Plant customers will be asked to fill out a survey the next time they pay their bills to gauge their interest in continued use of wintertime generators as a backup should a National Grid power outage occur.

Temporary generators have been rented for the past several years following numerous National Grid outages, However, during the years they have been installed, they have only been needed for a total of 3-1/2 hours – at an annual cost of $114 to the average homeowner paying the $9.52 a month fixed surcharge.

THE LIGHT PLANT’S TOWNWIDE GENERATORS ARE FOR WINTER POWER OUTAGES. [RICHARD W. GREEN FILE PHOTO]

“The light board is split on whether to bring the generators back again next year,” Town Manager Jennifer Constable, who also serves as light plant manager, told The Hull Times. “The results of the survey will provide information about how the community feels about [this issue].” The survey will be available whether paying a paper bill or online, with a submission deadline of May 30.

The survey includes three questions about whether ratepayers support the standby generators being brought back for the next winter season; if so, would they support a 10% to 15% increase in the current surcharge to cover generator-related costs; and do they currently own a home generator.

“It’s a year-by-year decision as to whether we will rent generators due to permitting requirements and the need to find a location to install them if they were to become permanent,” Constable said. “We’re still trying to find a long-term solution, working with National Grid.”

Deciding to rent the generators without knowing if they will actually be needed that season is “akin to an insurance policy,” she said. “It may not be necessary to use them, but they are there if it is, and it’s up to the ratepayers if they want them to return year after year.”

In other business…

No decision has yet been made about a rate increase, Constable confirmed. The Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company performed a financial review of the light plant earlier this year to assess the overall financial health of the light plant, with a specific focus on financial and operational indicators.

As a result, MMWEC recommended that the light board consider a rate increase due in part to the need for the light plant to replenish its cash reserves.

MMWEC, through an energy partnership established in 1969, assists Massachusetts municipal light departments such as Hull’s with their needs to contract for energy.

A rate study has been under way for a number of months that takes into consideration the light plant’s operating budget for the next three to five years, the cost of electricity, and the costs associated with the line crews, office staff, equipment, and other expenses.

The 4.2% rate increase suggested by the MMWEC study would amount to about an additional $6.51 a month, or a $78.12 annual increase, for the average residential ratepayer.

The light board will ultimately vote on whether to support a rate increase, which Constable said would be “the first one in a number of years.”

The cost of business “goes up annually, and an increase would help us have more cash on hand and would give us the ability to borrow at lower interest rates [as the cash reserve increases] looking ahead to long-term projects, facility [upkeep and necessary upgrades], the feeder line, possible permanent generators,” and other considerations, according to Constable.

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