Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch announced Wednesday he will intervene on behalf of ratepayers to oppose a 11.2-percent increase in residential electricity rates proposed by National Grid, the utility that distributes electricity to most of the state.

“National Grid’s request for a residential rate increase of a whopping 11.2 percent would be troubling under any circumstances, but coming at a time when so many Rhode Islanders are struggling in the midst of horrendous economic circumstances makes it especially burdensome to all of us,” Lynch said in a statement.

He said he planned to send a staff member to a pre-hearing conference being held by the state’s Public Utilities Commission on Friday with instructions to begin legal papers that would allow the attorney general’s office to intervene in opposition to the rate hike.

In announcing its request Monday for a rate hike, National Grid officials acknowledged the timing was bad, but said the company needed the money to increase the reliability and safety of its distribution system.

asmith@projo.com