Utility Reaches Deal To Buy Power From Cape Wind

The utility National Grid has reached a deal to buy electricity from the nation's first wind farm, planned off the coast of Cape Cod.

Under the 15-year contract announced Friday, National Grid would pay 20.7 cents per kilowatt hour starting in 2013 for electricity purchased from the 130-turbine Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound.

The price would go up by 3.5 percent annually to keep pace with inflation.

The cost of electricity from conventional sources is about 9 cents per kilowatt hour.

The utility says the deal will add about $1.50 the average customer's monthly electricity bill in 2013.

The deal is considered crucial for financing a project estimated to cost at least $2 billion.

It must still be approved by state regulators.

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