Versant Power customers will see their electricity bills rise slightly beginning July 1.

The rate increase follows an earlier, larger increase that took effect in April.

When the new rates go into effect, a typical residential customer in the Maine Public District who uses 500 kilowatt-hours per month will see a $2.80 increase to their monthly bill, Versant said in a statement Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a typical residential customer in the Bangor Hydro District using 500 kWh per month is expected to see a 31-cent increase to their monthly bill.

Versant, which is Maine’s second-largest electric utility, serves about 165,000 customers in northern and eastern Maine. The Bangor Hydro District includes the Bangor area, Hancock County and Down East Maine, while the Maine Public District contains much of Aroostook County and a chunk of Penobscot County.

Versant customers’ rates previously increased in April by roughly 8%, adding about $11 to a typical monthly bill. That increase was prompted by a change in the distribution rate, one of the six rates that make up electric bills.

Marissa McKay, a spokesperson for Versant, said in a Tuesday phone call that the Maine Public District is seeing an increase in its transmission, distribution and conservation charges.

The rate increase for Bangor Hydro District customers is lower because their transmission rate went up in January, McKay said.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission said Tuesday that it had approved the increases to help Versant recover stranded costs.

“Stranded costs are expenses incurred by utilities that are not necessarily recoverable in the competitive electricity market,” the commission said in a news release. “These costs are largely the result of state legislation enacted to support Maine’s climate and clean energy goals.”

Those expenses include ones associated with renewable energy contracts, net energy billing programs and initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting clean energy.

Also, a $3 million service quality indices penalty has been imposed on Versant for not meeting the PUC’s reliability and performance benchmarks. That penalty is to be credited back to ratepayers.

“This annual reconciliation process not only ensures that stranded cost rates remain accurate, transparent and fair to Maine consumers, but the SQI penalty reinforces our commitment to holding utilities accountable for service quality,” Philip L. Bartlett II, chair of the PUC, said in the statement.

Versant failed to meet one of the commission’s benchmarks regarding calls for service during winter storms in January 2024, McKay said.

“We need to meet 80% of calls in 30 seconds or less, and because of the very unprecedented storms we saw in 2024, we were unable to meet some of our metrics,” McKay said.