Maine utility regulators and Versant Power have agreed to set a new standard offer rate for electricity customers.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission announced the new rates on Tuesday. The rate for residential and small non-resident customers in the Bangor Hydro District will be 16.4 cents per kilowatt-hour starting January 1, 2023. That’s a 41 percent increase compared to last year.

The commission says that will drive up the average bill by about 20 percent, rising to $138, an increase of about $23.

The rate is for customers who don’t select a competitive electricity supplier and instead opt for the standard offer supply by default.

Commission Chair Phil Bartlett shared the following statement along with the announcement:

“While we recognize that this is a significant increase that comes at a time when consumers are already faced with rising prices due to inflation, the natural gas markets have come down from a few months ago, resulting in a better outcome than we originally anticipated.”