Connecticut lawmakers are unlikely to address the state’s skyrocketing electricity rates until the next year, leaving residents and businesses stuck paying steep public benefits charges on their electric bills in the meantime.
Connecticut already has some of the highest electricity costs in the nation, and with the delay from lawmakers, residents can expect to keep paying those sky-high bills in the coming months.
Gov. Ned Lamont weighed in on the issue appearing on WPLR’s Chaz and AJ on Thursday (Sept. 5), acknowledging the significant spike in energy costs, especially during July’s heatwave.
“Everybody went up dramatically — we were up about 40%,” Gov. Lamont admitted during the interview. He suggested some short-term fixes for ratepayers, such as paying the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to perform an energy audit, which would assess a household’s energy use and suggest efficiency improvements, along with purchasing a heat pump. Yet, for many cash strapped ratepayers already struggling to cover rising bills, these solutions may offer little relief.
He also said he “met with all leaders yesterday [Wednesday]” to discuss “short term things you can do in terms of subsidies and more importantly, spread out the cost shock.”
According to Gov. Lamont there is no quick solution for Connecticut’s energy woes. “The biggest problem we’ve got is long term, and that doesn’t help me in the short term,” he said, pointing to the state’s limited energy generation capacity as a major driver of rising costs.
The governor emphasized the need to expand the state’s energy infrastructure, pointing to nuclear, wind, and hydroelectric power as potential solutions. Yet, he acknowledged that these projects are far from immediate fixes. “We just launched our first wind turbine, but natural gas is tricky because I need New York’s permission and Massachusetts’‘ permission,” he said, referring to their reluctance to extend pipelines into Connecticut.
When asked about the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority’s (PURA) decision not to extend the recent Public Benefits Charge price hike beyond 10 months, Gov. Lamont expressed frustration but defended PURA saying, “Generally, I think PURA has done a pretty good job.”
He also defended PURA Chairwoman Marissa Gillette when pressed on whether he would consider replacing her, calling her “really smart” and “tough on the utilities.”
Still, the governor conceded there’s unlikely to be short-term relief for electric bills, hinting that no substantial action will be taken until the 2025 legislative session. “It really doesn’t sound like anything’s going to change with our electric bill in the near future,” Lamont admitted.
But relief cannot come soon enough as expressed by Scott Dolch, Executive Director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, who also took to the radio on Thursday telling listeners that small businesses, particularly restaurants, have been hit hard with the recent rate hikes.
“The restaurants are probably one of the largest users of electricity and power,” Dolch said. He shared a story of one restaurateur whose electric bill surged by $3,000 compared to the previous year, saying, “Energy costs are up 30%, like I can’t make this stuff up.”
Candelora: Lamont Did Not Meet With All Leaders
In a separate interview on Thursday, House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford) revealed on Talk of Connecticut with Gary Byron that Gov. Lamont had not met with all legislative leaders as the governor had insinuated.
“He met with the leaders of the Energy Committee,” Rep. Candelora disclosed. “[But] all of the leaders have not had a meeting with the governor,” adding that not doing so was a deliberate move on Gov. Lamont’s part, saying, “He does not want to go into special session.”
Connecticut’s electric bill crisis has been exacerbated by a combination of factors, including being locked into a 2017 contract with the Millstone nuclear power plant, government mandates and a four-year moratorium on utility payments during the pandemic, which according to Rep. Candelora left a roughly $400 million tab owed to Eversource and United Illuminating (UI).
Unlike the glowing review Gov. Lamont gave PURA, Rep. Candelora offered a far less favorable assessment of the agency. He placed the blame for the current electric bill crisis on PURA’s shoulders, stating, “We have to put the blame where it squarely needs to lie, and that is with our government agency PURA.”
He then blasted PURA for mishandling the crisis, pointing to the agency‘s failure to act in a timely manner. He explained that the recovery of the more than $400 million in Public Benefit Charges owed to the utilities had been delayed by PURA for years.
However, at the “last minute” PURA approved the measure, Rep. Candelora said, adding that ratepayers are now being forced to pay not only the underlying charges but also the interest. “That money has been basically financed and it’s been sitting there, so ratepayers have to pay interest as well as the underlying tab.”
Rep. Candelora didn’t mince words when criticizing Chairwoman Gillette saying, “She is not a hero in this. She is just as culpable as the rest of them,” expressing frustration with what he called “smoke and broken mirrors” tactics including Gillette’s idea to push recovery out by an additional 22 months, which would have added to the financial burden, forcing residents to pay even more interest costs.
He didn’t hold back in his criticism of Democrats either, accusing them of prioritizing their own spending agendas over providing relief to struggling ratepayers, such as the state’s Medicaid program which is “already over budget by 200 million.” Rep. Candelora further slammed the state’s spending priorities, adding, “We need to pay for illegal immigrant health care first before we could pay for ratepayer electricity.”
Wrapping up the interview, he delivered more grim news: “There’s a crap ton of more charges that are coming in the future.” He emphasized the urgency of addressing the issue, noting, “It’s part of why I wanted a leader’s meeting to have these conversations, because we can’t keep going at this rate. We are by far going to be more expensive than Hawaii for electric bills.” (Currently, Hawaii has the highest electric rates in the country.)
Senators Harding and Fazio Continue to Push for Special Session
Senate Minority Leader Steve Harding (R-Brookfield) and Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-Greenwich) made an appearance in the pressroom for a Q&A on Sept. 4 to continue their push for a special session.
The senators called for using expiring federal Covid funds — or the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) — to cover the Public Benefits Charges’ portion of electricity bills.
“There is money out there, as of this moment, it’s over $700 million that could be used and provide significant relief to ratepayers,” Sen. Harding said, referring to unspent ARPA funds. He explained that these funds could offer immediate relief to ratepayers by lowering their energy bills, saying, “That would be, in my opinion, significant immediate relief.”
Sen. Fazio supported reallocating funds to address the $200 million in arrearages caused by the moratorium, as well as eliminating certain public benefit charges. He criticized the current system, which he described as a hidden tax on ratepayers, particularly low-income residents who end up paying for subsidies they don’t benefit from.
“Some of those public benefits charges could be rolled back or eliminated right now,” Fazio said. “It’s a regressive tax on low-income people paying the bills for high-income people to get subsidies.”
They also called for moving Public Benefits Charges — which funds 41 different programs — from utility bills to the state budget, allowing for more transparency and scrutiny. “If it were to be done that way, we could have a full and transparent discussion about what the people of the state of Connecticut are actually paying for, as opposed to it being baked into a hidden tax,” Sen Harding argued.
Sen. Fazio echoed this sentiment, saying, “There are 15 different categories of charges under public benefits, and many of those programs should still exist but many shouldn’t exist at all going forward.”
While Gov. Lamont seems willing to wait until the next regular session, Senators Harding and Fazio insist on immediate relief through a special session.
“People are desperately crying for relief, and every single cent counts,” Harding said. They pressed for Gov. Lamont to act on the unallocated ARPA funds, warning that legislative approval may be necessary to free up the funds. “We have to go into legislative session to provide him with the ability to even expend the first $40 million of unallocated ARPA,” Harding explained.
Sen. Fazio added that without immediate action, Connecticut will continue to face some of the highest energy costs in the country, saying, “We are imposing too much cost on our residents as is.”
The Path Forward
In a Sept. 5 press release, Yankee Institute President Carol Platt Liebau called on the General Assembly and Gov. Lamont to hold a special session.
“Connecticut’s people are routinely burdened with some of the highest energy costs in the nation, and the recent surge in ‘public benefit’ charges has rightly enraged ratepayers across the state,” Liebau said. “Immediate action is needed to reduce our energy costs and make our state more affordable.”
Liebau pointed out that “there are millions of unspent ARPA funds still available to address the energy costs that have hit Connecticut’s hardworking families the hardest,” adding, “Rather than spending those taxpayer funds on pet projects and ‘green’ initiatives, policymakers should use them to correct previous policy mistakes.”
Furthermore, Yankee Institute called on regulators and legislators to eliminate subsidies for EV charging stations. These subsidies have largely gone to the wealthy, but, as Liebau noted, “the broader population struggles to keep lights on and groceries on the table.” She suggested redirecting this support in order to provide “much-needed relief to hardworking residents and small businesses.” Additionally, Yankee Institute offered as a long-term solution that hydro and nuclear power should be added in Connecticut’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), allowing electricity providers to choose the lowest-cost sources of electricity generation available, rather than a mandatory minimum of expensive solar and wind power.
“State lawmakers and Gov. Lamont should side with ratepayers and call a special session,” Liebau said. “For years, policymakers have passed legislation favoring certain types of energy over others for electricity generation, which increases energy prices. Ratepayers can no longer afford to support every pet energy project that legislators envision.”
With no relief in sight and the next legislative session five months away, Connecticut’s electric bill crisis will continue, leaving both residents and businesses facing mounting financial pressure. While lawmakers continue to debate long-term solutions, ratepayers are left wondering if relief will ever come. The call for a special session grows louder, but whether lawmakers will act before it’s too late remains uncertain.
