Connecticut regulators on Wednesday approved several changes to the process through which utility companies purchase electricity, with hopes of saving customers money by giving them access to better deals on the day-to-day energy markets.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority voted 5-0 to approve a framework for its new “dynamic” procurement model, which it is required to implement as part of a bipartisan energy-savings bill passed by lawmakers in 2025.
“This decision is a positive step forward in improving our procedures to procure energy at the best price for Connecticut ratepayers, while preserving important safeguards from market volatility,” PURA Chairman Thomas Wiehl said in his public remarks Wednesday.
How much customers can expect to save from the changes remains to be seen. PURA has until February to draft a more detailed plan to implement the new procurement model, and officials said it will likely be mid-2027 or early 2028 before any impacts are seen in customers’ bills.
Under the current system, Eversource and United Illuminating both purchase nearly all of the power used by their standard service customers through fixed-price, six-month contracts with wholesale suppliers. Wholesalers can include power plant operators that generate their own electricity, or other firms that buy and sell electricity on markets run by ISO New England, the regional grid operator.
The price of electricity on those wholesale markets can change as often as every five minutes based on factors such as the weather, consumer demand and the availability of natural gas, which is the primary fuel source used by most of the region’s power plants.
Therefore, wholesalers assume all of the risk — and any potential savings — from day-to-day fluctuations in the cost of electricity. Customers, in turn, benefit from more stable prices.
The changes approved by PURA on Wednesday will allow utility companies to bypass this system and procure some of their electric load — starting with a target of around 20% — directly from the wholesale markets, also known as “dynamic market purchasing.”
The hope is that by allowing utilities to access better deals on the wholesale markets, they will be able to pass those savings on to customers. Under Connecticut’s de-regulated energy structure, utilities do not own or profit from the generation of electricity at power plants. Those costs are passed along to customers, without markup, through supply charges on electricity bills.
“This decision takes a thoughtful and measured approach to improving Connecticut’s procurement process for standard service electric customers,” Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman said in a statement. “The goal of both the enabling legislation and throughout this proceeding was to build enough flexibility into the framework to benefit from lower-cost opportunities as they become available while maintaining protections that help shield customers from sudden changes and volatile swings in energy markets.”
Even supporters, however, note that changes to the procurement process also carry risks for customers.
“If you do it more dynamically, maybe you will save money maybe you won’t,” said state Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Essex. “It depends as much on external factors such as wars and pandemics.”
Needleman, who serves as co-chair of the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee, was one of the drafters of the 2025 law that required changes to the procurement process. He said that by limiting dynamic purchasing to a portion of the utilities’ total load, and allowing PURA to oversee the process, the risk to customers can be mitigated.
Representatives from both Eversource and UI released statements on Wednesday saying it was too early to tell what impact the changes to the procurement process would have on customers’ bills. Both companies requested changes be made to the final framework approved by PURA on Wednesday.
“It’s unquestionable that high, and oftentimes unpredictable, energy supply costs are the leading cause of the energy affordability challenges facing customers across New England, and those challenges can’t be meaningfully addressed without bringing more energy supply into the region,” Eversource spokesperson Tricia Taskey Modifica said in a statement.
“We’re closely reviewing the order to determine if we can effectively implement it to ensure customers have access to safe, reliable service at the lowest possible cost,” she added.
Angela Baccaro, a spokesperson for UI, said in a statement that the company supports the framework adopted by PURA on Wednesday.
“The specific customer, operational, and resource impacts of the approved framework will become clearer as implementation planning progresses and additional details are developed,” Baccaro said. “We look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders to implement the framework.”
Because utility companies do not profit off of energy procurements, Wiehl, the PURA chairman, said that reforming that process was an area where regulators and utilities could work together to find savings for customers. However, he lamented in his comments before Wednesday’s vote, the companies seemed more focused on their own self-interest, including assurances that they will be reimbursed for any costs to implement the new procurement system.
“In my opinion, the exceptions and arguments from the utility companies in this case did not fully reflect that cooperative spirit,” Wiehl said.
He added, “Here, where meaningful cooperation seems so attainable, what I read and heard was a focus on minimizing financial risk and public accountability.”
The changes will not impact customers who have switched off standard service, onto one of the third-party supply rates offered through Connecticut’s retail electric marketplace.
