A year ago, Connecticut announced a historic partnership with Massachusetts and Rhode Island to buy wind power together. But two weeks ago, our state appeared to be backing out.
Last October, Connecticut announced a historic partnership to purchase wind power with Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Nearly a year later, the two neighboring states announced plans to move forward without Connecticut.
“Let's see that the price looks like going forward and maybe it’s this deal or the next deal,” Gov. Ned Lamont said Wednesday about whether Connecticut will eventually join them.
He insisted Connecticut is not backing out, even though Massachusetts and Rhode Island began seeking bids earlier this month as a pair.
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Massachusetts, too, is still trying to get the state back into the deal.
“Offshore wind is key to unlocking jobs and economic development in our region,” Maria B. Hardiman, a spokesperson, Gov. Maura Healey, (D) Massachusetts, said in a statement. “... Selecting projects now will ensure New England stays in the lead as the industry takes off nationwide.”
Lamont said he’s concerned about the price the states will receive from vendors. His decision comes as customers continue to raise frustrations with a July 1 electricity rate hike, but Lamont said his concern goes back longer than that.
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“I do care about affordability as I look around the state,” he said after an unrelated event in Hartford.
Republicans sent a letter to his office asking for more transparency around the wind procurement process. They too have concerns about price.
Wind purchases can cost four times the market rate for electricity. Republicans proposed a bill this past session to limit those procurements to double the market rate.
“We need them to not cost the ratepayers hundreds of dollars more per person per year,” Sen. Ryan Fazio, (R - Greenwich), said.
Environmentalists say wind power is a critical part of Connecticut’s plans to bring down carbon emissions.
Charles Rothenberger, an attorney with Save the Sound, also said other energy options, such as natural gas or nuclear energy, will also require investments in the future. For example, the state has to compete for natural gas in the winter when home heating fuel takes priority over electricity production.
“The alternative is investing in even more expensive pipeline infrastructure to address a problem that primarily exists a couple weeks of the year,” he said.
Lamont expressed hope that wind energy prices will come down in the near future.
He pointed to the Federal Reserve’s decision to reduce energy rates by 50 basis points, saying that could bring down the cost to build and expand wind farms.
At the same time, Lamont is trying to get Massachusetts to purchase energy from Millstone Power Plant. That could reduce Connecticut’s financial burden to keep the facility open.
Lawmakers approved a deal in 2017 to stabilize Millstone’s finances.
Eversource and United Illuminating essentially provided a $600-plus million subsidy to Millstone and are now recouping that through electricity rates. Those payments account for 77% of the rate hike the Public Utilities Regulatory approved starting July 1.
Getting other states to buy electricity from Millstone could help reduce the need for future subsidies.
“I think it served us well and it really served the region well by providing carbon-free, relatively inexpensive power,” Lamont said of Millstone.
The governor also said he’s still reviewing state finances to see how much American Rescue Plan Act funds remain unspent.
He is open to using ARPA funds to help offset the cost of unpaid electricity bills during the pandemic, which account for the rest of the July 1 hike. That increase will continue impact bill until April.
“I think there’ll be some, I think it will be a lot less than people anticipate,” Lamont said.
