NORTH ATTLEBORO - North Attleboro Electric customers will find some good news inside their March electric bills - a one-time credit of about $91 for the average customer.

The credit will be $.09114 per kilowatt-hour, so the amount of the credit each customer will receive depends on the amount of electricity used during the past month. A customer who uses 500 kilowatt-hours will receive a credit of $45.57, while a customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity will receive a credit of $91.14.

So, for the average customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, March's bill would normally total $123.90, but with the one-time rebate will actually total just $32.76.

Electric commissioners voted Thursday to give all customers a rebate after reviewing budget information for the 2006 calendar year and determining that $1.8 million should be returned.

The rebate is due to a temporary surcharge collected to offset the rising cost of fuel required to produce and deliver electricity, called a Purchased Power Adjustment, which was first implemented in January 2006. The electric department reduced the adjustment four times during the year as fuel costs dropped, but some of the money collected was not spent by the close of the year.

"It is the people's money, and it is only right that the funds now be returned to our residents," electric commission Chairman Thomas Corrigan said.

"The PPA was instituted in order to ensure that the department had sufficient financial resources to address the volatility of energy prices.

"It was always the commissioners' plan to review the department's fiscal status at year end, and, if possible, return the funds to the system's true owners."

Another $614,177 will be placed in the department's rate stabilization fund, which will help offset a $1.4 million increase in power costs when a contract between North Attleboro Electric and a supplier, PSEG Energy Resources & Trade LLC, expires in 2009.

The money being returned to customers is from the 2006 calendar year budget.

The electric department continues to charge a lower Purchased Power Adjustment to help with 2007 fuel costs, which is currently set at $.014001 per kilowatt-hour.