Rhode Island AG moves to intervene in National Grid request to hike rates 23.6 percent

The Rhode Island attorney general's office is asking to intervene in a bid by National Grid to increase electric rates 23.6 percent.

Attorney General Peter Kilmartin's office on Wednesday told the Public Utilities Commission it wants to be involved in a Dec. 16 hearing as the PUC decides whether to approve the rate hike. The office represents the public interest in such matters.

The office had previously urged the commission to scrutinize the request and make every effort to reduce it.

Thomas Kogut, a spokesman for the PUC, has said many regional utility companies have filed for increases because of constraints on the gas pipeline that force up the price of electricity generation.

Kogut says the commission asked National Grid to report back on potentially spreading the cost over a longer period.