Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Senate votes to ban variable electric-rate contracts

  • Environment
  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • May 20, 2015
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"
Senate President Martin M. Looney led a bipartisan press conference about variable electric rates.

CTMIRROR.ORG

Senate President Martin M. Looney led a bipartisan press conference about variable electric rates.

The state Senate  passed bipartisan legislation Wednesday that a sponsor says could make Connecticut the first state to ban variable electric-rate contracts that consumer advocates say are routinely used to exploit residential customers.

After a six-hour debate that ended around 7:15 p.m., the Senate placed the bill on its consent calendar, a procedural device used to adopt several bills simultaneously and unanimously. The bill now goes to the House.

“Electric customers deserve stable, predictable electric rates,” said Senate President Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven.

The bill would be the second passed in two years to combat third-party electric retailers who attract customers with low teaser rates, then bump them far above the standard-offer rate charged by Eversource or United Illuminating.

The 2014 law already requires a new billing format in July that gives consumers notice of when their electric contracts expire.

“I think we need to do more,” Looney said.

The ban would apply only to residential customers. Many businesses, especially large companies that are major consumers of electricity, have sophisticated staffs that can monitor the variable market.

“To ride the market is a very difficult challenge, even for a savvy, knowledgeable expert,” said Rep. Lonnie Reed, D-Branford, co-chair of the Energy and Technology Committee. “Data has been showing that some electric retailers have been taking advantage of consumers for their inability to crack the code.”

Unlike variable mortgages, there are no standards for what drives variable electric rates.

Reed said in the last quarter of 2014, when market rates should have been the lowest, 15 suppliers were “spiking the variable rates more than 30 percent above the standard offer, using the rate to dupe and fleece consumers.”

Electricity is bought and sold as a commodity, and third-party retailers compete with Eversource and UI, sometimes acquiring and re-selling power at cheaper rates based on their success in procuring power on the open market.

Eversource, the new name of Connecticut Light and Power, and UI, own the transmission system.

The bill would ban new variable contracts as of Oct. 1, but not completely extinguish variable rates. At the conclusion of contract, a consumer still could be assigned a variable rate if they do not sign a new contract or switch to the standard offer.

Rep. Tim Ackert of Coventry, the ranking House Republican on the energy committee, warned that consumers still need to exercise a measure of due diligence.

Energy regulators are to deliver a study in January, recommending further changes.

AARP, the consumer group whose membership is age 50 and above, sought a total ban, but the group’s chief lobbyist in Connecticut said the bill still was a major step forward for consumers.

“That is literally going to put Connecticut on the map as far as consumer protections for ratepayers are concerned,” said John Erlingheuser of AARP.

The industry opposed the bill, even the retailers who do not offer variable rates. Industry leaders said the market would weed out the bad actors, assisted by new billing disclosures required under the 2014 law.

But legislators from both parties agreed a stronger step was necessary to protect consumers.

Looney and other Democrats were joined at a press conference by Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, and other members of the GOP minority, a sight more common in Hartford than in Washington.

“I think consumer issues are really bipartisan,” said Sen. Paul Doyle, D-Wethersfield, co-chair of the Energy and Technology Committee.

“This committee, under this leadership, has moved to include everybody in the conversation,” said Sen. Paul Formica of East Lyme, the ranking Senate Republican on the committee.

Despite the bipartisan support, passage was delayed for more than six hours over an unrelated dispute over scheduling other bills for debate.

Fasano said Democrats failed to deliver on promises made the previous evening. Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said, “I don’t see it that way, but I don’t want to get into a back and forth with Sen. Fasano.”

Both men minimized the dispute, with Fasano calling it a “family dispute” and Duff describing it as “a little bit of a speed bump.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Senate sends data center incentives and town aid pledge bills to Lamont’s desk
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Senate endorsed an omnibus fiscal bill that lays the groundwork for a major boost in PILOT aid to many municipalities.

Lamont’s budget keeps transportation program afloat through 2026 with new truck fee
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Gov. Ned Lamont's new budget would keep Connecticut's transportation program solvent through 2026 with a new fee on trucks.

CT has big plans for tackling climate change. Now it has to make them happen.
by Jan Ellen Spiegel

Gov. Ned Lamont wants to expand the role of the Connecticut Green Bank to include funding for climate change projects.

New Haven lawmaker would ban exclusionary beach policies
by Keith M. Phaneuf

A New Haven lawmaker wants to stop municipalities from imposing exorbitant fees that restrict many out-of-towners from using their beaches.

A shocker in the plan to finally update residential solar rates: No complaints
by Jan Ellen Spiegel

Connecticut is on the verge of changing one of the key financial underpinnings for residential solar electric systems.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The Board of Regents’ changes must not shortchange its students or faculty
by Carrie Andreoletti, PhD

As a university professor and a lifespan developmental psychologist, I tend to approach my work from a developmental perspective. This means I aim to foster a lifelong love of learning and to help others find a sense of meaning and purpose, as well as confidence in their ability to reach their goals. My approach to higher education is shaped by my desire to provide the best possible education for my students. This is why the recent Board of Regents’ proposed changes at the four state universities have me worried.

Opinion How to close schooling opportunity gaps created by the pandemic
by Carol Gale

We ask school district leaders to trust your public servants whose daily work life involves assessing student needs and planning or modifying instruction to meet those needs. Listen to their voices, as we have, and allocate precious resources on interventions that will offer increased opportunities for Hartford students to succeed.

Opinion A new guide for schools: How to work with families this spring
by Michael Arrington and Erika Haynes

With months of remote and hybrid learning to go, families and educators continue to adapt and innovate to meet the moment. Since August, we’ve spoken with hundreds of parents, caregivers, family support groups, educators, and students across Connecticut and the country about things things that have worked --strategies, big and small, that have made this time more manageable and helped children learn and stay connected with peers.

Opinion Housing is a human right
by Tenaya Taylor

Nonprofit Accountability Group is a queer- and trans-led group based in Hartford that is dedicated to creating racial equity by directing resources to Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and disabled children and families. NAG was founded in 2020 as an organization with a transformative approach to implementing nonprofit accountability by creating relationships within the community, nonprofits, and their funders.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO