Expect to see higher electric bills for many customers across the state. State regulators approved a rate hike Wednesday morning for both Eversource and United Illuminating.
Keeping the lights on at home will soon cost more.
“It's sitting at $180 right now, and before it was like $60, so it's already doubled,” Jarixa Colon, of Waterbury, said.
Many Eversource customers left frustrated after the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, or PURA, approved a rate hike, which starts in September. Eversource and United Illuminating said it’s to offset $80 million for electric vehicle programs to uphold the state’s clean energy policy.
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“You know, they're always going to come up with an excuse to, you know, jack up the price of the electricity,” Arden Casiano, of New Britain, said.
While United Illuminating did not have impact numbers yet, Eversource said typical residential customers using 700kwh a month will pay an additional $3 a month from Sept. 1 through April 30 of next year.
This comes after the public benefits portion of electric bills went up for Eversource and UI customers last month.
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Both agencies say that money funds state-mandated approved programs and policies that they don’t control or profit from.
Republican lawmakers said state surplus money should be used to offset the public benefit programs.
“When you're seeing multi-million dollar surpluses coming out of the State of Connecticut and none of that is trickling down into people's kitchens, it is frustrating,” House Minority Leader Rep. Vincent Candelora said.
Senate Democrats in a letter asked PURA to delay the rate hike vote saying: “…our concern is this action, if taken, would further damage the people of our state and cause significant financial duress.”
For now, customers are bracing for the inevitable sticker shock.
“Got to be prepared for anything, sadly,” Colon said.
The independent Office of Consumer Counsel did file an appeal asking to reconsider the hikes and spread them out over a longer period or to open new proceedings to find ways to allow customers to better understand their electric bills.
