Sen. Gordon Highlights Reasons for Huge Electricity Rate Hikes, Continues Call for Reform
August 5, 2024
A breakdown of your electric bill, including the “Public Benefits” charge.
State Senator Jeff Gordon (R-Woodstock) today highlighted the reasons for the shocking electricity rate hike and his ongoing efforts with Senate Republicans to offer reforms:
“I have heard from hundreds of people who are outraged about their electric bills. I am equally outraged. Connecticut’s hard-working people, families, retirees, and job-creating small businesses are already in a tough position, and this makes things worse. Connecticut is already a high-cost-of-living state. It has the third highest electricity costs in the U.S. according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This rate won’t be sustainable.
“The supply cost of electricity is a pass-through charge that does not provide profit to Eversource. The transmission charge is regulated by the federal government. Combined, these charges dropped by 43 percent. Instead of a big savings for customers, everyone’s bills have skyrocketed due to the largest increase ever of around 460 percent in “public benefits” charges. This large cost is due to state government mandates. It has grown from just around six percent of your bill to a staggering 25 percent.
“This electricity rate debacle is borne from government policy decisions before I joined the legislature: a 10-year electricity purchase agreement to subsidize the Millstone nuclear power plant and the 4-year moratorium on shutoffs for people who did not pay their bills. Although these policies might have merits, they must be paid for. They account for $784 million in costs that Eversource will recover. These policies do not reflect today’s realities,” he said.
“Yelling about electricity bills is not enough. That is why as a state senator I have been acting to bring reforms. You must know that the current situation was preventable. I, along with my Republican colleagues, offered reforms to prevent this very issue from happening. Legislative Democrats irresponsibly chose to ignore our warnings.
“We proposed serious, meaningful ways to make energy costs less expensive in the state, to work toward a sustainable and cost-effective energy procurement process, to increase natural gas supply, and to allow for better oversight of utilities through an independent, stronger functioning regulatory agency. I supported efforts to make state government pay for its mandates, not tax you. I supported use of ARPA money to help defray the costs of these big electricity rate hikes. I supported Public Utilities Regulatory Authority Chairwoman Gillett’s proposal to phase-in the rate increase over several years to lessen the impact.
“The Democrats ignored these ideas and did not listen to your concerns. Now you are getting whacked by paying the price!
“Notably this year, I advocated for a change in the long-term electricity procurement law that places a priority on you, the rate payer, and not on the utilities. The law passed. I also advocated for stronger reviews of rate hike proposals. This was done but could not help the current rate hike due to state mandates.
“As a state senator, I have not voted to raise your taxes or raise your electricity bills. I will continue to fight for you on this issue and to help make Connecticut more affordable,” he continued.
Sen. Gordon, along with Senate and House Republicans, offered a package of policy proposals as early as 2023, and again in 2024 to forestall the double-digit increases that customers see today. Notably, the Republican package included a proposal to study the removal of fees and costs associated with state government policy decisions from energy bills, and instead appropriately transfer these costs to the state budget—to mitigate the “Public Benefits” charge on bills that has contributed to widespread consumer outrage.
Learn more about what Senator Gordon and his Republican colleagues are doing for energy affordability:
https://ctsenaterepublicans.com/home-gordon/
https://www.facebook.com/senatorjeffgordon
