In an August 17 letter to the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) all five of Connecticut’s Congressional representatives expressed support for a motion to reconsider the approval of a rate hike for electric utilities in the state.
The letter, which was signed by both of Fairfield County’s representatives, Jim Himes and Jahana Hayes, backed a motion filed by the leadership of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Committee on Energy and Technology.
“Although as federal Representatives we do not have any formal role in the process of setting rates or in the oversight of utility companies, we have all heard from numerous constituents and businesses that are experiencing significant increases in bills in the wake of the recently implemented Rate Adjustment,” reads the letter.
“For this reason, we strongly support the motion to reconsider and believe that PURA should consider alternative strategies for meeting the state and utility providers’ statutory and financial obligations that do not unduly burden ratepayers, especially in the historically high-usage summer months. These strategies include expanding the period of time to recoup necessary funds beyond the current 10 month period, which has unnecessarily compounded the impact of the adjustment.”
The representatives also stressed the importance of their work to provide federal funds to help offset rising energy costs even as demand for programs like Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program have outstripped appropriated funds.
The full letter can be read at https://courtney.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/courtney.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2024-08-17%20FInal%20PURA%20Letter.pdf
