Rising electric rates spark public outrage

“We left [the moratorium] in place too long, but that’s not really what’s causing the pain in people’s bills.”
— State Rep. Maria Horn, D-64

LAKEVILLE — Still reeling from sticker shock over their July electric bills, many Eversource customers are now facing another rate hike next month.

On Wednesday, Aug. 14, the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulating Authority (PURA) voted to raise rates for Eversource and United Illuminating (UI) to help cover the cost of improvements to the state’s electric vehicle charging grid, a decision that is expected to cost customers an additional $3 per month from September through April.

That announcement comes on the heels of residents’ rising electric bills caused by a mid-year Eversource rate hike that started July 1, which had been estimated to cause an estimated $13 increase in monthly bills. Excessive heat this July further drove customers’ bill spikes due to increased energy consumption from air conditioners and cooling systems.

Meanwhile, lawmakers concur that rising electric rates are an annual problem but are at odds as to a solution to lower costs.

“Connecticut has the second highest electric rates in the country. That’s inexcusable,” said Sen. Republican Leader Stephen Harding and Sen. Ryan Fazio (R), Ranking Senator of the Energy and Technology committee, in a joint statement in response to the increase in many July electric bills.

What’s driving the increase

Both Eversource, which serves communities in the Northwest Corner, and UI, said the Public Benefits portion of customers’ bills is separate from the supply, transmission and local delivery charges, and represents the costs for state-mandated energy programs and policies.

According to Eversource, effective July 1, all residential electric customers saw the Public Benefits portion of their bill increase about $48 per month, based on a 700-kilowatt hours bill, over 10 months.

This component is based on usage, according to Eversource.

“Connecticut customers use, on average, 35 percent more electricity during the summer months to stay cool, and the state has experienced several heatwaves which can lead to greater electric usage.”

At the same time, the Standard Service energy supply rate decreased from 14.71 cents per kilowatt hour to 8.99 cents per kilowatt hour. With these combined adjustments, “the majority of residential customers using an average of 700 kilowatt hours per month, saw a net increase on their bill of approximately $8.”

The rate adjustment was reviewed and approved by the PURA and is an annual adjustment that will be collected through April 30, 2025.

The Standard Service energy supply rate is in effect from July 1 through Dec. 21, 2024.

“We have repeatedly expressed our concerns to regulators that continuously pushing off necessary rate adjustments would eventually lead to rate shock for customers, and unfortunately our concerns have now become a reality. We continue to propose policy paths to keep rates stable and predictable,” said Eversource in a statement.

“A lot of misinformation”

Lawmakers, both Democrat and Republican, have weighed in on the issue.

State Rep. Maria Horn (D-64), said there is “a lot of misinformation out there,” and the most recent PURA decision to further raise rates for Eversource customers is adding to the confusion.

“One of the major problems is that we only have two energy suppliers in Connecticut, Eversource and UI, and that means that there is little to no competition,” which often helps drive prices down.

Horn explained that the price of energy is reset twice a year, and that Eversource is a delivery company, so it has to buy energy on the market, and then reset that price. When they do it in July, the prices generally go down, and they did this year, she explained.

“But what happened, even though the unit price went down, many customers’ bills went up because of the hot summer.”

As for the Public Benefits charge, that comprises a little less than a quarter of customer’s bills and addresses clean energy initiatives and a program that prevents power shutoff to families facing economic emergencies, the latter of which is primarily pandemic related from when the “economy was in a freefall,” and keeping people housed and with power became an urgent situation.

“There’s been a lot of conversation that the moratorium went on for four years, and it really may have gone on too long,” and there has been some recent controversy about that, noted Horn. “We left [the moratorium] in place too long, but that’s not really what’s causing the pain in people’s bills.”

Rather, she said, “Approximately 75% of that is due to the state contract with the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant, and a much smaller amount, about 10%, has to do with the moratorium,” Horn said, noting that Millstone provides about 40% of the state’s energy and 15 percent of New England’s energy.

Horn noted that while there is not much lawmakers can do at this time to ease rising energy costs, as utilities are entitled to get their costs back when they pass them along to consumers, “and that’s hard news for the people,” but we will definitely be looking at all of that when session starts up again.”

In the meantime, she said, there are energy assistance programs available through the state, by calling 211, and through the power supplier.

However, House and Senate Republicans want immediate action and continue to demand that Gov. Ned Lamont call lawmakers into special session as soon as possible to tackle high electric rates in Connecticut.

“PURA’s actions today underscore how policies put forth by Democrat-controlled state government have serious consequences for Connecticut’s consumers and taxpayers,” said Harding and Candelora in an Aug. 14 joint statement.

“These rate adjustments for Eversource and United Illuminating of an additional $80 million starting in September to enhance the EV charging grid will further burden ratepayers already struggling to pay their monthly electric bills.”