"
After already seeing their electricity costs go up in July, Eversource and United Illuminating both estimate their customers will be paying another $3 or so a month starting September first, following a ruling from the Connecticut's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. Residents, like Teresa Lionetti from Stamford, were not happy with the news, saying “it's a nightmare, my bill was $1,200 last month, and the month before that it was $600, so this is uncalled for" "I don't see how people can afford this," joined in Norwalk's Gene Suttenberg. The electricity companies say that they are not making a profit off of this latest increase, telling us they need the money to offset the costs of a state-mandated program to install electric vehicle chargers. But State House Minority leader Vincent Candelora, a Republican, says there are other ways to pay for this, pointing out that "Connecticut is sitting on a sizeable surplus, it still has COVID money left, we need to give relief to the residents." State Democrats have shared their unhappiness about the ruling as well, with Senator Bob Duff saying "this has been handled very poorly. The utility companies should not have asked for this money. The regulators should not have not approved this funding." PURA tells News 12 they currently have two open motions to reconsider and reopen the decision, while several Democratic senators, including Duff, have also sent letters. "We don't think it's necessary right now," explained Duff. "The electric vehicle market will take shape at some point in the future, the market is best to ensure that there are enough chargers around." Candelora says waiting longer to find the money won't fix the problem, since "whether they have to pay it today, or six months from now, it's still unaffordable." Candelora tells News 12 that he and state Republicans have requested a meeting with both the governor and other Democratic leaders, hoping to find a long-term, bipartisan, solution. Duff says he agrees this is something everyone needs to work on together. Statement from Eversource: "We appreciate PURA's decision on this important matter. Thanks to Governor Lamont, his administration brought together the energy companies and key stakeholders like the Office of the Attorney General, DEEP, PURA, and OCC to forge a path forward to continue the state's electric vehicle rebate program. Helping get more electric vehicles on the road is good for air quality and helping the state fight climate change, which we support. We will continue to advocate for regulatory policies which provide for stable and predictable rates for customers while also supporting Connecticut's public policy goals. We estimate that this increase for a typical residential customer using 700kWh a month will be an additional $3 per month from September 1 through April 30, 2025. " Statement from United Illuminating: "We are pleased with the outcome of yesterday's Revenue Adjustment Mechanism (RAM) decision, which acknowledges that Connecticut cannot continue delaying the funding of legislatively mandated public benefits programs collected on customers' electric bills instead of the State's General Fund. In this decision, PURA has clarified the standards of recovery for Connecticut EV incentive programs. This decision provides us with stable and predictable cost recovery mechanisms for these crucial programs, created by state policymakers to help meet Connecticut's clean energy goals. The public benefits costs associated with administering these programs are passed directly to consumers with no markup by the company. These incremental amounts approved by PURA's decision amount to approximately around $3.00 on the average bill and will be reflected in customer bills beginning next month and will go directly towards administering this essential program, supporting Connecticut's clean energy transition policy." "
Most Popular
Comments / 0