At an environmental summit hosted by the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters on Tuesday, Gov. Ned Lamont continued to push both the use of electric and hybrid vehicles, while also acknowledging the state’s high electricity rates.
Lamont — who was shot down in 2023 after proposing a bill that would prohibit gasoline-powered vehicle sales in the state by 2035 — has continued to advocate for residents making the switch to electric vehicles. And for those who aren’t fully ready to make the switch, he offered up the compromise of a hybrid.
“You can get a hybrid for less than $20,000 with all… the subsidies,” he said. "They go twice as far at half the price. And that’s a nice bridge as we get more electric vehicles.”
Lamont also acknowledged Connecticut’s increasingly high electricity rates. But he said Connecticut’s energy efficiency standards save residents money, and make electricity bills comparable to states where the cost of energy is lower.
“We have relatively high energy prices, as you all know, especially in comparison to a state like Texas. But our electric prices per home are close to what they are in Texas, because we’re much more energy efficient than they are.”
In 2023, Connecticut held fourth place for having the highest energy prices in the country, following Hawaii, Rhode Island and Maine. On average, residents paid more than 28 cents per kilowatt-hour in late 2023. The national average in the same timeframe was 16.21 cents. Residents in Texas, as Lamont used in his comparison, pay about 14.71 cents per kilowatt-hour.
In contrast to Lamont’s statement, Connecticut also comes in second place for the highest electric bill, averaging more than $150 a month. For reference, Texas’s bill sits at 9th place, averaging almost $30 less.
Connecticut residents continueto battle utility companies over electricity rates. The state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has also continued its internal struggle over utility regulation into the new year, hinting at another year of difficult bills in 2024.
