A major consumer protection law passed by Connecticut legislators in 2023 is being seen as a national model and template for other states as it continues to save state utility customers more money.
According to a new analysis from the Energy and Policy Institute, the impacts of 2023’s Senate Bill 7 have saved Connecticut more than $10 million in two years.
The law prevents Connecticut utilities from using ratepayer money for lobbying, advertising and marketing, among other activities like the cost of membership in trade associations. It also prevents recovery from perks for boards of directors such as travel and lodging.
The EPI found that since the bill went into law, Connecticut’s utility companies Eversource and Avangrid have spent a collective $9.738 million on such costs, which are now prohibited from recovery. Under the information available to the publication, it determined that Eversource spent $4.276 million on such costs through September 2024, while Avangrid spent $5.462 million on those sources.
The EPI stressed that some of these costs include Board of Director meetings for Eversource natural gas subsidiary Yankee Gas at resorts in Florida and Massachusetts and Avangrid reporting more than $163,000 spent on corporate air travel.
This is separate from a second report which found that Colorado and Connecticut, both states to pass limitations on recoverable spending, saw hundreds of thousands of dollars saved for consumers since the legislation became law.
“We envisioned legislation like this in 2023 because we knew it could make a real difference for ratepayers,” said Sen. Norm Needleman, the Senate Chair of the Energy & Technology Committee. “Two years later, and that’s more than $10 million saved for them. That’s success, and we need to keep building on it. One victory isn’t enough. Legislators are hard at work examining Connecticut’s power grid from every possible angle for further success.”
Lawmakers have reported issues in discussions with state utilities since these bills passed, including letters sent to Needleman accusing him of defaming a utility and bullying another utility.
It also comes as Senate Democrats work to advance the “Ratepayers First Act,” which seeks to diversify Connecticut fuel sources, provide new protections for tireless line workers and pursue new development of nuclear and offshore wind power in its current iteration.
Senate Bill 4, as the “Ratepayers First Act” is known, was slated for a public hearing in front of legislators on March 6.
