The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors of this newspaper. We welcome supporting or opposing views on any published item. Received August 20, 2024.
Recently, Eversource and United Illuminating were approved for yet another rate increase. I want to be clear. I share your outrage. I’m an Eversource customer, too. When I got my most recent bill, I was speechless.
The increases are cost recovery mechanisms for Eversource to recoup investments made into their EV infrastructure. But the fact is, building EV infrastructure is a good business investment. Electrifying our transportation sector is the future, regardless of what the timeline looks like.
Utility companies continue to make record profits, boost their executive compensation, and then pass off the costs of their investments to ratepayers who are already burdened by the second-highest electricity rates in the country. It is outrageous. Making matters worse, Eversource threatened to pause funding EV infrastructure earlier this year unless they got what they wanted, meaning we’re now paying for a program they don’t want to support.
While Eversource officials estimate that the increase will add $3.00 per month for typical residential customers through April 2025, this increase comes on top of another significant increase in the public benefits charge section of the bill, approved in April. In April, Chairwoman Gillet argued for an amortization schedule that would stretch the payments over a longer period of time, lessening the sticker shock to consumers.
The board voted 2-1 to implement a shorter ten-month timeline at the utilities’ request, leaving ratepayers with substantial increases to their utility bills. Again, corporate greed demands a bigger piece of the pie at the expense of hardworking Connecticut families. I encourage you to read more about this vote and the Millstone agreement that contributes more than 75% of the increase to your bill here. Making matters even worse, this has been the hottest summer in Connecticut’s history, adding even more costs at the worst possible time through the need for air conditioning and relief from heat and humidity.
We are facing some of the hottest summer days on record, electricity usage is up and the rate increases are simply unsustainable for consumers. Utility companies operate a monopoly here in Connecticut and reward themselves with seemingly never-ending increases to their compensation packages. Eversource CEO Joe Nolan is one of the highest-paid energy executives in the country while his company demands more from the rest of us. It has to end.
My colleagues and I are committed to tackling corporate greed and standing up for ratepayers while making gradual, methodological and practical steps towards a future with cleaner energy options and capable EV infrastructure.
We’ve called for PURA to delay this EV decision and my colleagues and I on the Energy and Technology Committee asked PURA to reconsider its larger public benefits decision amid the extreme costs Connecticut families and businesses continue to face. There’s a subsection in state law saying PURA can reverse or modify a decision in the instance of “changed conditions,” and these spiking expenses are certainly a “changed condition.” Something needs to change and we’re trying to find solutions to relieve the pressure.
State Sen. Norm Needleman (D-Essex)
