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Working on Solutions to Stabilize Your Bill

Certain costs of service, including state-mandated energy programs, policies and initiatives, are adjusted at least once a year based on our costs for these services.

These are recovered through a charge on your bill.

What Was Proposed? 

The total proposed increase is $784 million – which is a $38/month (18.7%) increase for a typical residential customer.  

Massachusetts and New Hampshire customers will not see this increase. It is primarily tied to two items mandated by Connecticut law:

1. Electric supply costs 

We are required by law to purchase electric supply - we do not generate electricity.

To try to stabilize supply costs, the state of Connecticut secured fixed-price contracts with the Millstone and Seabrook electric generating stations, requiring Eversource and United Illuminating to purchase power from these generators for 10 years starting in 2019.

In 2023, we provided testimony that forecasted the high likelihood of possible rate shock due to the approved contract price being too low. We proposed a modest customer rate to curb future rate shock, but a lower rate was still approved.

This is the main reason for the increase, which makes up $605 million.

2. Unpaid customer balances

Under Connecticut policies, we have been unable to collect overdue balances from customers with financial hardship or medical protection since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

These unpaid balances, which have grown significantly under the shutoff moratorium, are ultimately paid for by all customers.

Where Will You See This Increase?

Most of the increased costs would be reflected in the Public Benefits portion of your electric bill.

We know the kind of impact this increase can have on a household budget, and we have proactively offered solutions to state leaders to provide you with greater rate stability by phasing in the increase.

Under our proposal:

  • A smaller increase would take effect on May 1 ($9 or 4.45%).
  • A larger increase would take effect on July 1 ($34 or 16.4%) to align with an expected lower Standard Service supply rate.

How We Move Forward 

We’re urging active collaboration with state agencies and executive offices. Working together is vital to craft a path forward. 

We propose:

  1. Aligning the part of the rate that deals with the state-mandated power contracts with the Standard Service rate changes on  January 1 and July 1.  
  2. That interim rate changes be allowed within a 6-month period if we project a significant over or under recovery of costs. This would mitigate large amounts from building and reduce rate shock caused by significant swings in the underlying market prices. 
  3. We advise returning to using forecasted costs because as we’ve seen, last year’s costs are not good indicators of the current year’s expenses. 

We are ready to provide you with rate stability.