Connecticut's ‘‘public benefits charge’’ on United Illuminating and Eversource electric bills has been a hot topic since last summer.
The charge increase — paired with a hot month that kept air conditioning on high and increased funding for the state to buy power from Waterford-based nuclear power plant Millstone — sparked an outcry from ratepayers who couldn’t believe how much they owed their electric company.
Since then, Republican lawmakers have been trying to remove the charge from electric bills. They circulated a petition that garnered more than 70,000 signatures and are now introducing legislation to the same effect.
The outrage is based on claims that the charge covers missed payments from other customers who couldn't pay their bills during COVID-19.
However, environmental advocates on Monday said the charge is vital because it also covers renewable and efficient energy programs, as well as grid updates and fortification.
“The public benefits have been inappropriately scapegoated as the reason our bills exploded last summer, and judging from the slew of anti-public benefits bills in the front of the General Assembly's Energy and Technology Committee, the reality of what actually happened last summer has been badly misunderstood or ignored,” said Andy Bauer, chairman of the Portland Clean Energy Task Force.
Republicans, who said they were disappointed Governor Ned Lamont didn’t mention high energy costs in his budget address last week, have suggested moving the charges to the state’s General Fund. Bauer said that would shift the charge elsewhere.
“Let's pay for electric system stuff with an electric bill charge,” Bauer said. “Otherwise you're paying for electric system stuff when you go to the hardware store, play golf or buy a pack of gum.”
That proposal is one of multiple put forth by lawmakers seeking to lower energy costs in Connecticut, which are among the highest in the country.
“Connecticut residents are hurting from these high costs, and they are begging their elected officials to do something about it,” said Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-Greenwich), ranking member of the Energy and Technology Committee. “We have been offering specific plans to do just that for the last two years, including removing public benefits charges that are inflating electric bills. We can do much better in this state, and we hope to work with our Democratic colleagues to get these common sense ideas passed into law.”
