Empower RI helps business and residential customers compare electricity prices

Company Website: http://www.RI.gov
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- (Business Wire)

Lt. Governor Daniel J. McKee and Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers Administrator Thomas F. Ahern recently announced the launch of Empower RI, a website to help Rhode Islanders shop for the best electricity prices for their homes and businesses.

Empower RI, www.ri.gov/empowerri, allows business and residential customers to compare electricity prices and contract terms from competitive suppliers to the current “Standard Offer” from National Grid. The site is designed to make the process of selecting a competitive electricity supplier easier and more transparent in Rhode Island, which has some of the highest energy costs in the country.

Empower RI is a joint effort of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, and Rhode Island Interactive.

The website is part of the Lieutenant Governor’s efforts to ease the burden of high energy costs on Rhode Island small businesses. In 2015, Lt. Governor McKee and Attorney General Peter Kilmartin intervened before the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission on behalf of ratepayers to eliminate the so-called billing adjustment, which cost National Grid electricity customers $1.5 million last winter after they switched to competitive suppliers. The PUC voted to end the adjustment July 1, 2015, removing a barrier to a robust competitive market.

“Empower RI is a valuable tool to help small businesses and residential ratepayers shop for the best electricity prices,” Lt. Governor McKee said. “Empower RI was designed to do exactly what its name says: empower ratepayers to make the most cost-effective decisions on their electricity supplier. Using this website, consumers will be able to easily navigate the marketplace and choose the plan that’s best for them.”

Administrator Ahern added, “While large industrial and commercial customers have participated in the competitive electric supply market for years, we have only recently seen an increase in the number of competitive suppliers offering service to residential and small commercial customers. Empower RI will serve as a resource for these residents and businesses.”

Rhode Island Interactive designed Empower RI, and demonstrated the features of the website, including a savings calculator based on kilowatt usage, at a press conference at the State House on Wed., January 27, 2016.

Rhode Island Interactive is a wholly owned subsidiary of NIC USA, a publicly held company and the largest developer of eGovernment solutions in the nation. The State of Rhode Island has a long-term contract with Rhode Island Interactive to manage the RI.gov portal and to grow the number of available Web-based services.

About Rhode Island Interactive

The RI.gov site and services are developed and maintained by Rhode Island Interactive, a Providence-based, wholly owned subsidiary of the eGovernment firm NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) offering paper-savings online services. A variety of informational resources and local government online services can be found at http://www.ri.govon behalf of the State of Rhode Island.

About NIC

Founded in 1992, NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation's leading provider of official government websites, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company's innovative eGovernment services help make government more accessible to everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,500 federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. Forbes has named NIC as one of the “100 Best Small Companies in America” six times, most recently ranked at No. 36 (2014), and the company has been included four times on the Barron’s 400 Index. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160201005135/en/

Contacts:

RI Interactive / RI.gov
Nicole Scaramuzzi, 401-831-8099 x230
nicoles@egov.com

Source: Rhode Island Interactive