The Day: State Says No to Higher Electric Bills, 6.12.08

The Day

State says 'no' to higher electric bills

By Patricia Daddona     Published on 6/12/2008

State regulators tentatively turned down requests by two of the state's largest utilities  for millions of dollars in extra funding for energy-efficiency programs, saying the cost  would be too much for ratepayers to bear.

The state Department of Public Utility Control said requests by Berlin-based Connecticut Light & Power Co. and New Haven-based United Illuminating for a combined extra $25 million for energy-saving programs were unacceptable.

Consumers are already facing soaring energy costs, along with high gasoline and food prices, and regulators said the increased dollars for energy-efficiency programs would add to customers' electric bills.

Energy-efficiency programs offered by the utilities include everything from "demand response" programs that provide power when the need is highest to various energy audits for homeowners and businesses.

In a May draft decision, the DPUC said Connecticut Light & Power had initially sought $98 million for energy programs, $20 million more when compared with last year's budget of $78 million.

United Illuminating's proposed budget for such programs had increased by $5 million, from $18 million last year to $23 million this year.

Oral arguments on the draft decision are scheduled before state regulators on Friday at 9:30 a.m. in New Britain, with a final decision due June 19.

Mary J. Healy, consumer counsel for Connecticut ratepayers, said the DPUC's rejection of the utility spending hikes is reasonable and necessary.

"We certainly encourage conservation, but you have to do it within your budgetary authorization," Healy said.

Environment Northeast, a Hartford-based research think tank, has said that investing extra funding now for energy conservation would keep ratepayers from spending four times that much on their electric bills.

"We're either going to pay for power or pay for efficiency, and we should choose the cheaper one," said Jessie Stratton, deputy director of Environment Northeast, which is based in Hartford.

Every dollar of energy-efficiency investment saves almost $4 in electric-system benefits, said Mitch Gross, a spokesman for CL&P.

Gross said CL&P is "willing to work within whatever budget the department (sets); however, we want to make it clear to the department we need to do more because customer interest is the highest it's ever been."

"This is not the last chance for us to look at conservation-management programs,"said Vicki Hackett, staff attorney for Healy's office. "Let's see first what our resource needs are."