Consumers says the rates are for improving reliability and safety, and making other investments in the electric grid.
Public Service Commissioner Katherine Peretick says it’s “essential” to make sure the investments lead to measurable improvements in the system.
“Improving vegetation management, focusing on decreasing the amount of time customers are experiencing outages, and piloting techniques to improve reliability and resilience are of utmost importance.”
Consumers had originally asked for a rate increase more than double the size of what was ultimately approved.
The new rates are cleared to take effect immediately.