BANGOR, MAINE, July 20 /CNW/ - Bangor Hydro-Electric Company has reduced rates for electricity distribution service for the fourth year in a row. This year's decrease is 1.83 percent for residential customers and 1.82 percent for small commercial customers. Medium and large commercial customers also will see a decrease in their winter distribution rates starting on November 1, 2006. These rate decreases vary by customer class, but range between 1.57 percent to 4.58 percent. The decrease will offset most of the regular annual increase in transmission rates, which are adjusted each July 1 for the previous year's activity for each of the various rate classes. Transmission rates are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). As a result, customers will only see a slight rate increase overall. Residential customers will experience an overall increase of .69 percent, which is approximately $0.29 per month on the average 500 KWh residential bill. Commercial customers will see overall rate increases of approximately 1.17 percent for small businesses and 0.56 percent for large companies. Bangor Hydro is committed to providing safe, reliable, and affordable electricity to customers within our service territory. Since 2003, Bangor Hydro has reduced residential distribution rates by 9.18 percent. A detailed rate schedule can be found on the Bangor Hydro website at www.bhe.com. About Bangor Hydro Electric Company Bangor Hydro-Electric Company: Bangor Hydro-Electric Company (BHE) is an electric utility wholly-owned by Emera Inc. BHE serves a population of 192,000 in an area encompassing 5,275 square miles in eastern and east coastal Maine. BHE is a member of the New England Power Pool and is interconnected with other New England utilities to the south and with the New Brunswick Power Corp. to the north. Visit us at www.bhe.com. About Emera Inc, Emera Inc. (EMA-TSX) is an energy and services company with $4.0 billion in assets. Electricity is Emera's core business. The company has two wholly-owned regulated electric utility subsidiaries, Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company, which together serve 590,000 customers. Emera's other investments include a joint venture interest in Bear Swamp, a 600 megawatt pumped storage hydro-electric facility in northern Massachusetts; a 12.9% interest in the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline; and Emera Energy Services which manages energy assets on behalf of third parties and provides related services. Visit Emera on the web at www.emera.com.