No relief in sight as energy costs rise, temperatures dip

“Read the room, Eversource. Connecticut families are fed up with sky- high energy costs.”
— Connecticut Attorney General William Tong

Residential customers of Yankee Gas could see a nearly 30% increase in heating bills if a $209 million rate hike, requested last month, is approved by the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

The request by Yankee Gas, which is owned by Eversource, follows on the heels of skyrocketing costs to consumers’ monthly electric bills this summer caused by a hike in the “public benefits” portion by Eversource and several heat waves.

State lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed dissatisfaction with the rising electric rates, but despite calls since summer for a special legislative session by Republican lawmakers to address the increases, majority Democrats have taken no action.

“Connecticut Republicans continue offering common sense solution for rate relief, including to remove “public benefits” charges from our residents’ electric bills,” Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding said in a statement.

“For months, we have called for a special legislative session to act,” a petition for which was signed by more than 58,000 state residents, he explained.

State Rep. Maria Horn (D-5th) said she has yet to hear a proposal that “would actually help ratepayers in a meaningful way in a special session, and I have found the calls for that to be a performance, rather than a substantive discussion about how to make real change. Now that the election is behind us,” she said, “perhaps that will change, but it’s my belief that the only way to continue to combat these complicated issues is through regular session.”

Gov. Ned Lamont has said that if specific proposals were to be presented by lawmakers, he would consider calling a special session.

According to Democratic Attorney General William Tong, Yankee Gas’s $209 million rate hike request filed with the regulatory authority would raise revenue for the company by 29%, and residential customers who use gas to heat their homes would see bills rise by 43%.

“Read the room, Eversource,” Tong said in a Nov. 13 statement. “Connecticut families are fed up with sky high energy costs and can’t afford this massive increase. This is yet another tone-deaf slap in the face from our out-of-touch public utilities.”

Referring to Yankee Gas’s recent rate hike request, “You don’t have to be a lawyer to see some basic obvious overreach in this filing,” the attorney general said. “They’re asking for profits that are completely out of whack with other public utilities, including tacking on a non-starter ‘regulatory risk premium’ to account for the fact that our public utilities don’t like oversight and accountability.”

He pledged to “comb through every page of this application … to fight for Connecticut families.”

Yankee Gas has 252,000 residential customers across 85 towns in Connecticut.

Yankee Gas’ $209 million rate hike request filed with PURA would raise revenue for the company by 29 percent, and residential customers who use gas to heat their homes would see bills rise by 43 percent.

Public can follow the Yankee Gas case

PURA has initiated Docket no. 24-12-01, “Application of Yankee Gas Services Company d/b/a Eversource Energy to Amend Its Rate Schedules.”

“The gas authority has 350 days to complete a gas rate case in Connecticut,” said Taren O’Connor, director of legislation, regulations and communications for PURA.

The schedule for this proceeding will be updated to include all related meetings and action items, including hearing and decision dates, O’Connor explained.

Anyone interested in following the proceeding can sign up at the authority’s Rate Case Information webpage, which offers several YouTube videos highlighting the specifics of a rate case.

‘People are absolutely furious’

Connecticut residents had the highest energy bills and had the second-highest percentage of residents who were unable to pay a bill, at 36%, according to a recent study by Lending Tree.

The study found that Connecticut has the third-highest electricity rate at 29.93 cents per kilowatt-hour, behind Hawaii and California.

“Here is even more evidence that electricity bills are too damn high for working- and middle-class Connecticut families,” according to a joint statement by Harding and fellow Republican state legislators Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-36), ranking Senator on the Energy and Technology Committee, and Sen. Jeff Gordon (R-35).

“People are absolutely furious at the electric bills that they’re paying and they want to see changes.”