Suffield Residents To Pay More For Electricity This Winter

It's official, Eversource has submitted a proposal to raise prices on electricity this winter. And that means bigger bills for customers in Hartford and Tolland counties.

The news comes on the heels of some town officials in Connecticut criticizing the utility for its response to a significant power outage Sunday. Five days later some residents are still without power. Eversource did bring in extra crews from across the country, and employees worked around the clock to facilitate restoration efforts.

Eversource Energy submitted its proposed winter electricity prices to the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) on Friday. Customers in Connecticut who are signed up for the company's Standard Service generation rate will see an increase on their electric bill beginning January 1.
PURA approved the new residential Generation Service Charge (GSC) of 9.078 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), up from the current 8.014 cents per kilowatt-hour. This is a direct pass-through cost to customers for the price of power generation, with no profit to the company, company officials said in a news release.

"We're always mindful of the effect these supplier increases have on our customers, particularly those who are facing difficult financial circumstances, and urge our customers to make full use of our energy efficiency programs to help reduce their usage, tighten-up their homes and keep energy bills down this winter," said Eversource Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Penni Conner, in a statement. "Like our customers, we have no control over fluctuating commodity prices, but we can help when it comes to finding solutions so they can better manage their energy year-round."
The new generation rate will be in effect from January 1 to June 30. The average residential customer using 700 kilowatt hours of electricity each month will see an increase of approximately $7.45 per month on the supply portion of their bill, Eversource said. Each customer's total bill depends on how much energy they use, their rate category, and weather conditions.

Under the state law that deregulated electricity, utilities like Eversource bid twice a year for power supplies, award contracts to low bidders, and pass along the costs to customers without marking them up. The Standard Service price changes on January 1 and July 1. All Eversource customers have the option to buy their power from other retail suppliers or go with the company's Standard Service rate. Customers can find out more information about alternate suppliers and rates at http://www.energizect.com/compare-energy-suppliers.
Eversource offers a wide variety of energy efficiency programs that can help customers reduce their power use and save money. Information can be found at Eversource.com.

Written by Brian McCready, Patch Staff
File photo