“Electricity costs in Connecticut are too damn high,” Senator Ryan Fazio, who represents Greenwich and the surrounding area and is Ranking Senator on the Energy and Technology Committee said in a Feb 23 press release. “One reason for that is that current government policies are inflating, rather than limiting, the cost of energy for individuals and families. We need to change the direction of our energy policies to stop future increases in electricity costs and eventually reduce them. Connecticut Republicans have a plan to reduce energy costs for every family in our state and we’ll fight for it this year and for years to come.”
The six proposals put forward by the GOP state senators include both major changes to the state’s energy policy and reconfiguring the state’s regulatory environment.
On the purely regulatory side they propose limiting future Power Purchase Agreements to no more than 100% over the wholesale electric market price and removing the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority which currently belongs to the Energy branch of the Department of Energy and Environmental and Protection. They also advocated for allocating unspent American Rescue Plan Act funding to cover accounts that are in arrears because of the shut off moratoriums put in place by the Winter Protection Plan. Additionally, they propose conducting studies into removing public policy charges from customer bills and adding them to the state budget.
In addition, they also advocated for broadening the definition of Class I energy sources the Connecticut Renewable Portfolio Standard to include all hydroelectric and nuclear power production, despite most nuclear technology relying on non-renewable fissile material. The senators also called for further study into increasing the supply of natural gas throughout New England where it remains a vital energy source.
