Politics & Government
Fazio is confident that electricity costs could be slashed quickly
State senator says Connecticut faces 'enormous deficit' in wattage over the next generation
By Scott Benjamin
GREENWICH – Is there a worst sticker shock than a winter electric bill that seems bigger than Justin Verlander’s salary?
State Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-36) of Greenwich says he has been hearing “a lot” from constituents about the recent rake hikes from Eversource and United Illuminating.
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Christine Stuart of CT News Junkie wrote last fall that state residents “will see their electric bills increase almost 50% over what they currently pay, according to new filings with the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA).”
Fazio is the ranking Republican senator on the Energy and Technology Committee. He said those costs can be slashed in the near term by rolling back state taxes and fees that are “embedded” in consumers bills.
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He said that he has proposed taking the “10 to 15 percent” of the consumer bill that is related to fees for bonding and other programs and “shift them to the normal state appropriations process, where those costs and benefits will be weighed fairly and openly against other programs that we need to pay for in the state budget.”
“In six months [it would] reduce people’s electricity bills by 10 percent,” Fazio remarked in an interview with Patch.com.
However, even with the rate hikes, Fazio said Connecticut faces “an enormous deficit in supply to keep the lights on a generation from now.”
He said ISO-New England, the independent transmission organization based in Massachusetts, told the Energy and Technology Committee recently that with the increase in the electrification of heating and vehicle fleets there could be “rolling blackouts.”
It is a problem elsewhere. In an editorial, The Wall Street Journal wrote that a report from PJM Interconnection, one of the nation’s largest grid operators, stated that, “Fossil-fuel power plants are retiring much faster than then renewable forces are getting developed.”
Fazio, who used to work in the renewable energy industry, said, "We have to make sure there is adequate supply to keep the lights, heat, and air conditioning on for residents decades from now, in addition to lowering cost, and protecting our environment. Natural gas, nuclear, and hydro, among other sources, need to be part of the solution in addition to battery, wind, and solar, because of their reliability.”
What is it about Connecticut’s job market? Over the recent years there are reports of the number of people leaving the state. There are fewer people employed now than immediately before the 2008 Great Recession, according to Donald Klepper-Smith, who chaired Republican former Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s (R-Brookfield) economic team.
Yet, Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) recently announced that there are 100,000 jobs that are unfilled. Companies can’t find the people trained to do the work.
To help address that, Fazio said he has proposed “eliminating the college degree requirement for many of the state jobs that we have” – a step that Maryland, Pennsylvania and Utah have taken.
Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland wrote in The Wall street Journal last year that, “If more states follow our lead, the trend could spread to the private sector.”
However, Lamont also has complained that there is not enough affordable housing available across Connecticut.
Fazio noted that he and state Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan (D-2) of Bethel have submitted a bill to revise the longstanding state Affordable Appeals Housing Act. That legislation has sought, with limited success, to pressure municipalities to meet affordable housing thresholds. If they fail to meet the threshold it is possible to circumvent local zoning regulations.
Municipal leaders have complained that it will impact property values in residential neighborhoods.
Fazio said their legislation would “break the loggerhead by having local control on the affordable housing cases.”
Fazio, who has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Northwestern University, said the fiscal guard rails from the 2017 bipartisan budget agreement “already have paid dividends.”
More money has been funneled toward the rainy-day fund and more has been used to pay down state employee pension debt.
Lamont and the General Assembly recently extended them for five years.
“I would have preferred 10 years or indefinite,” Fazio remarked.
He said Lamont’s proposed $50.5 billion two-year budget “is going in the right direction” in regards to lowering state income tax rates from five percent down to 4.5 percent on the middle income and three percent down to two percent for the lower income.
He said that he would like them to be lowered further and also reduce the rate on the wealthy.
“Middle-income, income taxes are the most prohibitive to growth and job creation and investment,” Fazio commented. “They are much more prohibitive than the sales tax.”
What about the surprises in the national economy?
Inflation soars to the highest point since Dave Righetti was Rooke of the Year. The Federal Reserve Board aggressively increases interest rates and yet unemployment doesn’t increase. Instead it goes down to 3.4 percent, the lowest rate in almost 54 years.
“What happened in 2020 [with the pandemic] was highly unusual,” Fazio explained. “It was a supply shock. Prices go up.”
He said the Federal Reserve Board was then “six to nine months” late in boosting interest rates.
Inflation currently stands at 6.4 percent.
“I anticipate a year from now you will see inflation under three percent,” Fazio declared.
Fazio is sitting at Caren’s Cos Cobber in Greenwich, where the web site states that it is, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.”
In a town that couldn’t survive without the commuter trains to and from Manhattan – this is a neighborhood haunt.
A Greenwich High School football helmet sits on a shelf. The Cardinals have captured the state’s number one ranking in the sports-writers’ poll in two of the last five seasons.
When a 42-minute interview concludes, Fazio sees two constituents and joins them at their booth to chit chat.
What state and local officials does Fazio most admire?
Greenwich Republican First Selectman Fred Camillo: “He loves the town,” Fazio remarked. “He is the town.”
Republican former state Sen. Scott Frantz, Fazio added. Frantz, who served in the 30th District from 2009 to 2019, and helped champion the establishment of the Arch Street Teen Center in Greenwich.
Fazio commented, “He’s done tremendous things for the community, but never wants to take credit for them.”
Ken Borsuk of The Greenwich Time reported that Mark Pazniokas of CT Mirror told the Retired Men’s Association of Greenwich in 2018 that Connecticut was undergoing a “political identity crisis.”
Greenwich may have become the prime example.
Fazio is the only Republican legislator from Connecticut’s ninth largest municipality.
In what once was a prohibitive GOP town, the three state House seats are held by Democrats. One of those districts had only elected Republicans until 2022.
Greenwich is home for three prominent Democrats: Lamont, senior U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes of the Fourth District.
Going into the 2018 election, it was plausible that Connecticut might elect a Republican governor and GOP majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly.
Now, Lamont is in his second term after scoring the biggest plurality in a Connecticut gubernatorial race since 2006, and the Democrats hold 98-53 and 24-12 advantages in the state House and Senate respectively.
State Sen. Stephen Harding (R-30) of Brookfield, who is 35 years old, said the GOP needs more candidates like Fazio, 32– a young self-starter who put the 36th District back in the GOP column during a 2021 special election and still won re-election – although by about 100 votes - a year later when there was a Democratic wave.
“You could see Ryan someday running on the state ticket,” said Harding, noting that he is ambitious and well-versed on energy and economic issues.
Fazio commented, “We need a strong two-party system. We don’t have that right now.”
However, he added, “There is certainly congeniality. I find as many good people that I work with on both sides in Hartford. Because of the numbers there isn’t as much bipartisanship as I would like. But there are earnest and good people in both parties.”
The 36th District also includes parts of New Canaan and Stamford.
Then-Hartford Courant political columnist Michele Jacklin, said in a 1999 interview that part of the reason that Connecticut doesn’t attract more young people is because it lacks vibrant cities.
Apparently, Stamford has filled that void. In about 15 years it jumped past Waterbury, then Hartford and then New Haven, and is now Connecticut’s second most populated city. It is home to major financial management firms, Indeed, NBC Sports and Henkel.
“By and large it is clearly the place to be in Connecticut,” Fazio remarked. “It has been the source of growth over the last 10 years.”
“There are many people in my age cohort that are very happy at getting a nice flat in Stamford,” said Fazio.
“It has a strong downtown with great bars, great restaurants,” he explained.
In February it added the first version of the New York Comedy Club outside of Manhattan. They are getting the comics who have been on the Tonight Show and hosted Netflix specials. There were two recent sell outs for Mark Normand – who Jerry Seinfeld has called “the best young up-and-coming comic.”
Fazio said Stamford faces the challenge of further developing a high-profile downtown and “retaining the neighborhood quality in Shippan Point, North Stamford, Springdale and Westover,” the residential districts.
“It is a delicate balance,” he commented.
Nationally, what political figure does he most admire?
“Abraham Lincoln,” said Fazio.
He explained, “He preserved the ideas of the founding and used them to correct the problems of the day. He made America an avenue of opportunity like never before.”
Resources:
Ryan Fazio interview, Patch.com, Monday, February 20, 2023.
Stephen Harding interview, Patch.com, Tuesday, February 21, 2023.
https://ctmirror.org/2023/02/1...
https://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/Expert-Election-Day-tough-to-call-13315774.php
https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2022/11/17/connecticut-electric-rates-to-increase-nearly-50/
https://www.courant.com/2023/0...
Michele Jacklin interview, October 1999.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/righeda01.shtml
