Crisco expresses dismay in CL&P rate hike

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco 

HARTFORD - State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco Jr., D-Woodbridge, has expressed disappointment in CL&P’s monthly transmission charges increasing by $7.12 for an average household beginning Jan. 1 – an increase that affects 1.2 million CL&P customers statewide, including those in Bethany, Beacon Falls, and Naugatuck.

Connecticut's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) Wednesday issued a final ruling that increased CL&P’s monthly charges for transmission services; earlier this year, PURA approved a separate CL&P electric rate hike for generation services, from 9.96 cents per kilowatt hour to 12.63
cents per kilowatt hour beginning Jan. 1 and continuing through June 2015, adding an additional $18.50 per month to the average homeowner’s electric bill.

While PURA did reduce CL&P’s requested rate hikes by hundreds of millions of dollars, the combined effect of the new CL&P rates will be difficult for homeowners and businesses to manage, Crisco said.

The total impact of all the approved CL&P changes will add about $25.60 a month – about $307 a year -- to the average homeowner’s monthly electric bill.

“CL&P should be playing Santa but they’re playing Scrooge instead,” Crisco said. “At a time when many families are still struggling to emerge from the global recession, are looking to pay off holiday credit card bills, and are trying to save money on their electric bills by instituting energy-saving initiatives, all of that has gone out the window with these recent rate hikes. I encourage CL&P customers to shop elsewhere for their power and to hold CL&P’s feet to the fire regarding their promised system improvements.”


This is a press release from Crisco's office.