The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Third-party power suppliers urge lawmakers to back off
A Pennsylvania-based trade group representing third-party electricity suppliers is urging Connecticut lawmakers to stay the course in terms of laws governing the power providers, and to not make even more stringent rules in terms of protecting consumers.
Tracy McCormick, executive director of the Retail Energy Supply Association, said the organization believe “Connecticut consumers and businesses are best served when they have the right to choose energy from a thriving, competitive marketplace.”
McCormick’s comments come in response to comments from state Rep. David Arconti, D-Danbury, House chairman of the legislature’s Energy & Technology Committee, who said the panel is working on legislation “to address many of the concerns that have been raised, including more oversight by PURA (the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority) and allowing them to order restitutions to customers.”
“For far too long, regulatory policies have attempted to address thirdparty suppliers’ issues that have been negatively impacting consumers statewide,” Arconti said.
Connecticut consumers using third-party electric suppliers paid an estimated $200 million more than consumers on the electric utility standard service between 2015 and 2018, according to an AARP study released late last month.
Standard service customers let the state’s two legacy utilities, The United Illuminating Co. and Eversource Energy, purchase generated electricity for them rather than buying it through a third-party provider. The charges associated with standard service are essentially pass-through, meaning the utilities are not allowed to charge customers more than what it costs the companies to purchase the electricity.
McCormick said the Retail Energy Supply Association and its members have worked closely with PURA, “and will continue to do so, in order to bolster consumer protections necessary for a thriving retail energy marketplace that is fueling innovation and the energy options today’s consumers demand.”
“Businesses and consumers in more than 12 states benefit from retail energy competition,” she said. “RESA believes that Connecticut and its residents deserve to remain among them and can only do so if the state allows for a competitive marketplace with common-sense measures to protect consumers.”