The State Department of Telecommunications and Energy (DTE) will be holding public hearings on December 29th at 7 PM at Boston City Hall, the Piemonte Room in the City Council to hear testimony regarding a proposed rate settlement it has reached with NSTAR in accordance with the Attorney General's office. The details of the settlement are a little technical but, in essence, it would mean a rate decrease of $0.45 for NSTAR customers, according to the DTE. Additionally, the petition states:

According to the Companies, the Settlement would mitigate rate increases for electric and gas customers. The Settlement provides for (1) NSTAR Electric rate changes on January 1, 2006 and May 1, 2006, (2) a performance-based rate mechanism for NSTAR Electric beginning January 1, 2007 and extending through December 31, 2012, (3) NSTAR Gas rate changes on January 1, 2006, (4) an expansion of NSTAR Electric’s storm fund, (5) the implementation of new procurement programs for NSTAR Electric basic service customers, (6) the implementation of a fixed-price option for NSTAR Gas residential and small commercial default service customers, (7) the implementation of service quality, safety and reliability programs, (8) the implementation of a low-income arrearage management program, and (9) the preparation of an annual capital projects scheduling list.

All of this is done in accordance with DTE's role in regulating Massachusetts public utility companies and specifically with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 164, Section 94. More information can be found at the DTE's website, including written testimony submitted by various parties regarding this proposed settlement. That tesimony can be viewed here by entering in Docket #05-85.

For more specific information regarding the proposed settlement, you can view the official petition filed by the DTE below.