Klarides-Ditria reminds consumers electricity supply costs to increase Jan.1

Recently, both Eversource and United Illuminating (UI) announced that electric supply rates would be up nearly 50% for the first six months of 2023, and natural gas prices have gone up by 25% in the last month and are expected to go higher. There are several components to these electricity cost increases, including the rising cost of natural gas (many of our electric generation facilities are powered by natural gas), pipeline capacity, and seasonal demand.   Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to change these underlying causes, but there are ways you can save energy and keep more of your hard-earned money. Most of us have taken steps to make our homes as energy efficient as possible, and every little bit helps. Regular cleaning and maintenance for water heaters, boilers, and heat pumps, and checking or adding insulation and making sure gaps and cracks are sealed to prevent cold air from getting in are all great ways to save energy and lower your monthly bills. One More Step Can Save Money Despite taking steps to seal our homes few of us have or take the time to understand the energy market and how it affects our bills.  In Connecticut, the electricity delivery market is regulated by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) but the supply market is not. Due to state law, Eversource and UI are prohibited from competing in the supply business, but there are several companies that offer electricity to consumers.   If you have never shopped for an electricity provider, please visit www.energizect.com to learn more and compare rates. Eversource and UI are required to provide default service on a pass-through basis, however, if customers do not choose a supplier, the utilities are required to procure "standard service” electricity for those customers.  For 2022, the delivery cost for Eversource was about 12.3c / kWh, and the supply cost was about 12c /kWh.  In a press release about the proposed rate increases, Eversource notes: “ ... the proposed Standard Service Rate for residential customers who receive their energy supply from Eversource would change from 12.1 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to 24.2 cents per kWh, compared to 11.5 cents per kWh last winter.” You can check prices from other suppliers on energizect.com, including some suppliers currently offering substantially lower rate for longer term contracts. Switching between suppliers takes some time and it can take 2-3 billing cycles for the utility to make the switch. Since the rate increases on default service will take effect from Jan. 1, now is the time to comparison shop. I hope this information was helpful.

Sincerely,

Crisco: Ban on variable rate electricity contracts a win for consumers

Lawmaker joins bipartisan group to push for protections

HARTFORD - Connecticut moved one step closer to becoming the first state in the nation to ban potentially deceptive and unpredictable variable-rate electricity contracts when senators added Senate Bill 573 to the chamber’s consent calendar for a unanimous vote late Wednesday. 

Once enacted, the bill would ban variable-rate contracts to residential electric customers for electric generation service.  

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco

“This consumer friendly legislation keeps suppliers honest and accountable,” state Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, D-Woodbridge, said. “Unscrupulous business practices are leading consumers down an unstable path of severe rate hikes. Consumers deserve to be protected from this sort of deceptive business practice.”    

Variable-rate contracts can be highly unpredictable, allowing for significant fluctuations in electricity rate charges each month. Customers are often sold on a variable-rate contract by being offered a low “teaser” rate by sales agents who misrepresent the extent to which the rates will change. 

Customers, many of them seniors, have reported that several months after signing onto the variable-rate contract their electricity rates increased from the low teaser rate to an increase of over 100 percent in many cases and over 200 percent in some cases. 

No notice of the rate increases was given to consumers until their bill arrived and payment was demanded using the threat of disconnection of service if payment wasn’t made. 

Last year, the General Assembly passed Public Act 14-75, which enacted several reforms for the protection of electric consumers. Perhaps the most significant of these measures was a new requirement that, beginning this July, every residential electric customer’s monthly bill must display their rate for the coming month. 

Now that Senate Bill 573 has passed in the Senate, it moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

Crisco represents the 17th District. This is a press release from his office.