UI Files Early 2025 Rate Plan. What Will CT Residents Pay?

CONNECTICUT — United Illuminating Monday filed a rate request for the first half of 2025 with the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority that calls for residential standard service customers to pay 1.66 cents more per kilowatt hour for electricity, or 13.57 cents.

If the proposed increase is approved, the average residential standard service electric customer, who uses 700 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, will have an overall bill increase of about 5 percent, or $13.69 per month, according to UI officials.

The rate request does, however, represent a 20 percent decrease for the first six months of this year, when UI standard service customers paid 17.06 cents per kilowatt hour, utility officials said.

UI officials said that, for the average customer, that translates to a 9 percent overall bill decrease and $24.46 in monthly savings compared to the same period last year, when electricity supply charges were 17.06 cents per kilowatt-hour. It also represents a 38 percent drop in supply prices compared to winter 2023, when supply prices were 21.94 cents per kilowatt-hour, they said.

PURA will ultimately decide on a rate for the period Jan. 1 through June 30.

UI is a subsidiary of Avangrid Inc.

UI Chief executive officer Frank Reynolds had this to say about the filing:

"Seeing winter rates drop substantially for standard service customers again this year is welcome news, who have borne the brunt of supply and public policy cost fluctuations for several years now. While we are glad to announce a more than 20 percent drop compared to winter rates last year, the energy supply market, which we do not control or profit from, remains in need of deep reform. The over-reliance on natural gas for electricity generation will cause price increases every winter until policymakers take action. In the meantime, UI is here to help our customers, especially those facing financial hardship, and I encourage customers who are struggling to pay their electricity bill to take advantage of assistance programs and to explore their energy supply options at www.EnergizeCT.com."

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong wasn't happy and his sentiments toward UI Monday echoed those directed to the state's other major electric utility, Eversource Energy, which filed Friday.

"We had terrible news from Eversource on Friday, and now more terrible news from United Illuminating," he said. "It’s the same bad news—another unaffordable increase on top of already unaffordable bills. Again, these winter rates are the result of a competitive bidding process. This is pretty much set in stone at this point. We see these fluctuations every year. But that doesn’t make it OK—far from it. Connecticut families need real relief from these unsustainable costs. Everything has to be on the table. My promise is this—I’m going to keep fighting every single day in every single proceeding before the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority."

The UI rate request has a similar pattern to that of Eversource, which filed a rate request plan that calls for a 2.2-cent increase per kilowatt hour on electricity bills.

If approved, the Eversource rate would increase for standard service customers from 8.99 center per kilowatt hour to 11.19 cents per kilowatt hour. Eversource officials were quick to point out in a news release that the rate is still less than 14.71 cents per kilowatt customers were billed for the first six months of this year. Eversource officials also pointed out that the rate is 24 percent lower than last winter and the lowest winter supply rate since 2021.