For the third time in 2025, electric rates in Connecticut fell after state regulators gave final approval to state borrowing that will deliver new savings for ratepayers including a 28% reduction in the public benefits charge.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority unanimously approved new reductions in the public benefits charges of consumer bills, finalizing steps taken by legislation to shift the cost of some consumer relief to state bonding instead of monthly bills.
With the change, the public benefits charge will drop by 28% in September 2025 compared to a year prior, falling from 11.13 cents to 7.97 cents. With the public benefits charge representing a smaller share of electric bills than distribution and supply, this 28% drop will correlate to savings of $9 per month for Eversource Customers and $15 a month for United Illuminating customers, the Hartford Courant reported.
This is the third time in 2025 that electric rates have dropped. The Connecticut Mirror reported in April that regulators approved reductions in power bills during the annual rate adjustment proceedings. The changes included declines in regional power purchases with nuclear plants. That cut represented a $13 reduction to Eversource customers’ monthly bills and $3 per month for United Illuminating customers.
Additionally, on July 1, state utility companies adjusted their standard service rates for the second half of 2025. Service rates traditionally increase in winter and decline in summer; on July 1, rates for Eversource customers went down from 11.19 cents per kilowatt hour to 9.748 cents, according to the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel, down 13% and saving $10 per month. Meanwhile, UI customers saw rates fall 14% from 13.5683 cents to 11.68 cents, saving customers $13 per month.
Consumers may not have noticed these declines amid a hot summer with four heat waves as of August 15. The weather prompted Eversource to run a paid post in the Mirror in May noting that while electric rates went down, energy usage traditionally climbs in the summer.
When the heat dies down, however, the energy bills of Eversource customers with typical usage rates will decline by, on average, $32 per month across these three changes, while UI customers will see declines of $31 per month.
