A recently released investigation conducted by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority provides utility rate changes for customers, according to State Rep. Anne Hughes.
“Back in the summer, utility company customers across Connecticut saw exorbitant rate increases in their monthly bills,” Hughes said. “We vowed to get answers and petitioned state regulators to investigate.
“Since then, we have made some progress and, while there is still much work ahead of us, I would like to give you an update on the results of our efforts, including decisions of the investigation conducted by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) that were just released.”
The current approach to administrative rate adjustments is not in the public interest and inconsistent with the intent of the authorizing statutes, based on the state regulators’ investigation.
The investigation will lead to a comprehensive overhaul of Connecticut’s rate adjustment process that benefits customers by setting rates on actual costs instead of inaccurate forecasts:
- Greater transparency
- Shifts risk to utility shareholders
- Freeze on changes to the utilities’ delivery charges through April.
Eversource delivery rates must remain at the June 2020 level until at least May 2021. If utilities over-collect from customers over the course of a year, the money will be returned in the next year (with interest), according to Hughes.
Constituents may contact Hughes at 800-842-8267 or by email at anne.hughes@cga.ct.gov. And “Like” and follow her Facebook page for regular legislative updates.
