Community Corner

State Utilities Authority OKs CL&P, UI Rate Reduction

Residential Customers May See Average $9 - $13 Savings Monthly

The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority announced this morning it has approved a reduction in standard service generation rates for residential and business customers of both Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating. The rate decease would be effective Jan. 1, 2012.

According to a statement issued by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, CL&P’s residential generation rate will decrease about 1.2 cents per kilowatt-hour. Residential CL&P customers using an average of 750 k/h would see a rate decrease of about $9 a month.  The UI decrease is 1.8 cents which means residential UI customers using 750 kWh would see a decrease of about $13.50 a month.

The move today has “nothing to do with” recent power outages as a result of storms, Dennis Schain, DEEP communications director said.

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“The cost of buying power has come down,” Schain said.

Schain said that periodically utility companies will request to have rates raised or lowered, in this case reduced because of power cost trends. Today’s announcement, he said, “are attributable to the ability of CL&P and UI to purchase power at lower cost due to the decline in natural gas prices and to a decrease in congestion fees.”

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According to the DEEP statement, similar reductions will be applied to generation rates for business customers taking standard service from the state’s two largest electric utility companies.  CL&P business customers will see a reduction of about 1.4 cents/kWh while UI's business customers will see a reduction of about 1.8 cents/kWh. The generation rate – which recovers the cost to generate electricity at power plants  – makes up more than 50 percent of the monthly electric bill for most residential users, the statement read.

Approximately 53 percent of the Connecticut’s 1.5 million residential customers take standard service generation from CL&P and UI. The remaining residential customers have opted to have their electricity provided by other approved electric suppliers, which can further reduce generation rates for consumers, the statement reads.

Schain wrote that, “even though CL&P and UI’s generation charges are being reduced, consumers should consider all available generation offers to obtain the most suitable and cost effective plan for their household.”


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