Eversource, UI to provide $13 million in relief of upcoming electric rate increases
With Connecticut ratepayers facing big increases in their bills starting Jan. 1, the state’s two largest utility companies are committing $13 million to provide relief to customers struggling to pay their utility bills this winter.
Eversource will contribute $10 million in shareholder profits to help low and middle-income customers, and United Illuminating will give $3 million to Operational Fuel, a private non-profit that provides emergency grants to help people pay their utility bills.
Gov. Ned Lamont said he spent the Thanksgiving weekend talking with rep
resentatives from the two companies about what they could do to help lower winter energy prices but emphasized that much of the problem is out of their control and the result of geopolitical events.
“I said, ‘Look, the taxpayers and the ratepayers are putting up a lot given the incredibly complicated times in which we live … I’d like you to come forward as well,’” Lamont said Monday at a press conference at the state Capitol.
Eversource is Connecticut’s largest utility with nearly 1.3 million customers in 149 of the state’s 169 municipalities, while UI serves about 340,000 in the Bridgeport and New Haven areas as a subsidiary of Orange-based Avangrid.
The governor said discussions with UI are ongoing, but the company has committed at least $3 million in funding to Operational Fuel, which has a budget of $4.5 million. The nonprofit will begin accepting applications for assistance on Dec. 19.
The Lamont administration is still determining how Eversource’s $10 million commitment will be distributed. It’s possible the entire funding will also go to Operation Fuel, if it’s determined the organization has capacity to administer that level of funding in quick order. Some of the funding could also be distributed to social service organizations that administer the energy assistance program.
At least one member of the negotiations thought the funding commitment from the two utilities didn’t go far enough. Attorney General William Tong, who was part of discussions on rate relief between the Lamont administration and the two utilities, said he asked the companies to contribute roughly 10 percent of their substantial earnings—or approximately $40 million for Eversource and $8 million for United Illuminating.
“I have asked them to contribute a percentage of shareholder earnings commensurate with the percentage increase their customers will pay this winter to keep their lights and heat on. To date, they have refused,” Tong said in a written statement Monday. “Absent that, we are left with solutions that provide only modest relief, and are paid for by and large by the very same taxpayers and ratepayers already crushed by this crisis.”
Eversource and UI are also seeking approval from the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to provide bill credits to customers as part of a long-term deal with Millstone to continue to provide carbon free nuclear power. For Eversource customers, the credit is expected to save them around $10 per month on their bills. UI is still calculating the potential monthly savings for its customers but expects to have that information available soon, the governor’s office said.
The state is already seeing an uptick in need for energy assistance, even before the colder months arrive. Applications to the federally funded Connecticut Energy Assistance Program are up 17 percent compared to last year. To qualify, a household’s income must be 60 percent or less of the state’s median income. A household of four making $76,465 or less annually, for example, would qualify. Those who don’t qualify can apply to Operation Fuel, which has a higher income threshold.
The announcement of the socalled “customer relief plan” between the state and the two private utility companies came as state lawmakers returned to the Capitol Monday for a special legislative session to vote on a separate package that includes $30 million in federal COVID money for CEAP, extends the state’s gas tax holiday and free bus service, and increases funding for pandemic bonuses for certain workers. The Democratic-controlled General Assembly was expected to approve the relief package.