HALLOWELL — Typical Versant Power residential customers opting for the “standard offer” rate will be paying an extra $30 per month on their electricity bills starting Jan. 1, regulators said Tuesday.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission approved an 88% rate increase based on a competitive bidding process.

PUC Chairman Philip L. Barlett II blamed the sharp increase on natural gas prices that keep going up. That contributed to a 126% increase in wholesale electricity rates over the past year, regulators said.

The standard offer is the default option for consumers who don’t select an electricity vendor on the competitive market.

It applies to the electric supply portion of people’s utility bills. A separate charge is levied for transmission and distribution costs incurred by CMP and Versant to deliver the electricity to homes.

All told, an average Versant customer will see electricity bills grow from about $101 to about $131, regulators said.

The increase doesn’t bode well for customers of Central Maine Power, the state's largest electric utility. Regulators haven't yet announced the CMP standard offer.

Versant is the state's second-largest electric utility, and covers most of Penobscot County, along with Hancock, Piscataquis and Washington counties.