SEN. CABRERA VOTES FOR $800 MILLION IN ELECTRICITY RATE CUTS

HARTFORD – State Senator Jorge Cabrera (D-Hamden) voted this evening for the “Ratepayers First Act”, a detailed energy bill that seeks to enact short- and long-term improvements to consumer electric bills, delivering long-sought savings that can provide financial relief to residents.

In the short term, the bill cuts consumer electric costs by nearly $800 million over the next three years by shifting charges and changing current investments while improving long-term review and reforms to increase consumer protections to control future fluctuations in energy costs.

The bill passed the Senate on a bipartisan 34-1 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

“I’m happy to vote for rate relief for Connecticut electricity consumers and to make some long-term, structural changes that will result in more savings in the future,” said Sen. Cabrera.

“Senate Bill 4 listens to the people of Connecticut and makes a concerted effort to find reductions and savings for electric ratepayers,” said Senate President Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven). “I applaud the efforts of my colleagues to identify hundreds of millions of dollars in efficiency and cost improvements that will add to recently lowered rates and relieve the state’s ratepayers.”

Senate Bill 4 takes a variety of steps, including cost savings with short- and long-term achievement goals and review and improvement to current policies.

The bill authorizes $250 million in general obligation bonds in the next two years to support hardship payment recovery, intended to reduce consumer debt accumulated due to hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic and the spike that all ratepayers incurred as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. The bill also authorizes another $50 million in general obligation bonds in the next two years to support state electric vehicle charging programs, while also placing limitations on that program to further rein in costs.

In a long-term approach to energy efficiency, Senate Bill 4 also updates rate reduction bonds to support additional means such as smart meters. Smart metering being covered via bonding allows state utilities to pursue investment of up to $1 billion in future upgrades without those costs being applied to consumer electric bills, especially important as those investments would be recoverable if enacted by distribution companies.

The bill also seeks to improve state collaboration with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, allowing it to select third-party entities to implement clean or renewable energy programs, expanding the market in which it can operate for maximum efficiency. PURA will also evaluate time-varying electric rates to incentivize improved efficiency, seeing if such a model works in Connecticut.

Under the bill, the Office of Consumer Counsel will prepare an explanatory report about public benefits charges for consumers, while electric distribution companies will work alongside it to design an education and engagement program aimed toward the public.