Unitil Corporation

Unitil Corp.
Public
Traded as NYSE: UTL
Industry public utility
Founded 1984
Headquarters Hampton, New Hampshire, United States
Area served
 United States
Services
  • electric utilities
  • natural gas
Revenue $366.9 Million (As of 2013)[1]
Website http://www.unitil.com

Unitil Corp. ("Unitil") is an interstate electricity and natural gas utility company that serves the areas in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine. Unitil's rates as of January 2015 are the second most expensive electricity rates in the continental United States in the Massachusetts legislature sanctioned natural monopoly territory of Unitil's subsidiary Fitchburg Gas & Electric Light Company including the Mass communities of Ashby, Fitchburg, Lunenburg and Townsend. According to the Massachusetts Alliance of Municipal Electric Companies, MAMEC, Unitil's rates are 83% higher than municipal electric companies in Massachusetts. The company was set up in 1984 and is based in New Hampshire. It provides electric services to about 102,400 customers and natural gas to over 75,900 customers.[2] The service territory of Unitil includes business districts and recreational centers as well as commercial and industrial business, such as electronic component manufacturers and education institutes.[3] The company has an enterprise value of $766.54 million.[1] The non-utility business is operated through the company’s subsidiary, U-source, which is a national energy brokering and advice company.[3]

Background

The company generates revenue mainly distributing utility to customers through operating the underground transmission pipeline and providing energy consulting service and real estate service.[4] 2013, the revenue of gas operation is $170.4 million accounting for 46% of the total operation revenue, and the electricity operation revenue, $190.7 million, represents 52% of the total revenue.[2]

The company has four segments, three wholly owned distribution utilities and five subsidiaries, providing utilities and relevant advice and management service to customers.[5] The three distribution utilities are Unitil Energy Systems, Inc., Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company and Northern Utilities, Inc.[3]

The cold weather made more and more people switch to the service of Unitil, which resulted in a gas sale increase, so the company has planned to invest $570 million to expand its distribution infrastructure to serve a larger number of customers.[6]

In winter 2014, the company has asked for a price increase to part of its customers in Greater Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn because of the high demand and harsh weather. The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved its price increase but cut its request by one-third.[7]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "UTL Key Statistics | Unitil Corporation Stock - Yahoo! Finance". Finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Unitil Corp. Annual report Form 10-K - Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405]". SEC.gov. 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Unitil Corp (UTL) Company Profile". Reuters.com. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  4. ↑ "UTL Profile | Unitil Corporation Stock - Yahoo! Finance". Finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  5. ↑ "UTL Summary | Unitil Corporation Stock: NYSE:UTL quotes & news - Google Finance". Google.com. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  6. ↑ "Unitil results: cooking with gas Growth in natural gas sales fuels 3.5% increase in earnings.". New Hampshire Business Review. 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  7. ↑ "Unitil Natural Gas Customer Get a Price Hike". Portland Press Herald. 2014-02-05. Retrieved 2014-02-18.

External links