Hampton, NH – October 22, 2001 – Unitil Corporation (AMEX:UTL) www.unitil.com announced today that its subsidiary Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company (Unitil/FG&E) filed compliance tariffs on October 19 with the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy (MDTE) to implement an immediate reduction in its electric distribution rates.

The compliance tariffs were filed in response to one of four Orders issued by the MDTE on October 18th and 19th. If approved, monthly bills for all Unitil/FG&E electric customers will be reduced for electrical usage on and after October 19. When fully reflected in rates, customers will see reductions of between 0.8% and 5.2% depending on rate class and usage. A residential customer using 500 kWh per month will see a reduction of $1.90 per month, a decrease of 2.6% in the total bill for a customer on Standard Offer energy supply Service, whose new bill will be $70.28 per month.

"These orders resolve various long-standing cases pending before the Department which we are glad to get behind us," said Unitil CEO Bob Schoenberger. "Going forward, we will evaluate the adequacy of our distribution rates and address any concerns in future rate proceedings. We are committed to continuing our plans for improved service and reliability and additional investment and economic development for Unitil/FG&E, and we are committed to providing competitive rate levels to our customers."

Unitil is a public utility holding company with subsidiaries providing electric service in New Hampshire, electric and gas service in Massachusetts and energy services throughout the Northeast. Its subsidiaries include Concord Electric Company, Exeter & Hampton Electric Company, Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company, Unitil Power Corp., Unitil Realty Corp., Unitil Service Corp. and its unregulated business unit Unitil Resources, Inc. Usource L.L.C. is a subsidiary of Unitil Resources, Inc. The Usource product line of Internet-based energy brokering and related products and services is available at www.usourceonline.com.

Contact
George Gantz
gantz@unitil.com