While residential electric bills went up 20, 30, even 40 percent in the last several months, some small business owners have seen their bills jump 50 percent or more.
Leed Himmel Industries in Hamden makes a variety of aluminum products in an operation that requires a lot of power.
“We’ll use about a million and a half kilowatt hours this year,” said president Howard Goldfarb, who said he’s spent the last few years working to improve the plant’s energy efficiency. Yet he’s paying more than ever for electricity.
“In 2022 we were 20 cents a kilowatt hour. Twenty-three (2023) we were 22 cents a kilowatt hour. … We’re now 35 cents a kilowatt hour,” he said.
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After he got hit with a huge bill in July, Goldfarb advised customers of a minimal energy surcharge to make up some of the difference, but he said it didn’t even make a dent in the increased electrical costs at the factory.
Much of July’s higher bill was attributed to a jump in public benefits charges, which include the state’s agreement with the Millstone nuclear plant, COVID costs and energy-efficiency programs.
Goldfarb would like to see some of these eliminated.
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“It was a little bit manageable. And then they started adding on things that don’t belong in there, and it went up dramatically,” he said.
And it’s worth noting, Goldfarb isn’t sure how many more rate increases he can take.
“It could get to the point where I just say it's not worth doing anymore. You know, all we're doing is working to pay the electric bill,” he said.
In a statement to NBC Connecticut Investigates, a United Illuminating spokesperson said, “Neither the Public Benefits Charge or supply rates are controlled by UI, nor do we profit from them. The drivers of these bill increases are out-of-state energy generator companies and state policymakers whose policy priorities have caused rate shock for all Connecticut residents and businesses. With session beginning in just a few weeks, we encourage customers impacted by these cost increases to participate in the legislative process and ask lawmakers to work to mitigate the rate shock they are experiencing.”
Manufacturers in Connecticut are eligible for some tax exemptions when it comes to energy costs.
