Southington Council Condemns Electric Rate Hike Proposal

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Local leaders this month urged state regulators to nix plans for Eversource Energy to jack up utility rates by as much as 19 percent this year.

The Southington Town Council on April 8 unanimously approved a resolution denouncing the proposal, with it being sent to Gov. Ned Lamont's office and the state Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA).

Citing large cost increases, Eversource is proposing a rate hike of nearly 19 percent this year, with the plan currently being reviewed by PURA.

Southington's unanimous, bipartisan resolution denounces the proposal and is meant to serve as the town's official input on the plan.

According to the approved resolution, PURA should reject the rate change request in deference to cash-strapped consumers.

The council's role, according to the resolution, is "to advocate for the best interests of its constituents and ensure that utility rates remain fair and reasonable."

Council members said in the approved statement that local and state residents are still recovering economically from the recent pandemic.

It said "honest and hardworking" residents of the state are being asked to pay for the electric bills of those who are not paying or are not able to pay.

Council members also called on Lamont to remove "unfunded mandates" that drive up costs for utility companies and force consumers to pay more for electricity.

"We encourage Eversource Energy to explore alternatives to rate increases, such as efficiency measures, cost-saving initiatives, and fair revenue allocation, to ensure that the financial impact on consumers is minimized," wrote the council.

Specifically, Southington Town Council Chairman Paul Chaplinsky said, those mandates are a combination of green energy mandates and, mostly, recent mandates stating Eversource cannot shut off power to those who don't pay their bills.

"The non-shutoffs has caused a ballooning from $120 million in unpaid debt," Chaplinsky said. "So people who are not paying their bills to Eversource (has caused Eversource debt to go) from $120 million up to $330 million as a result of the mandate."

"So it's clear that one mandate from the State of Connecticut has caused that. So the question is, how do you deal with it?" Chaplinsky said.

The final resolution passed after some minor council debate, with Democratic Councilperson Valerie A. DePaolo seeking more "bipartisan" language in the resolution.

Originally, the resolution put before the GOP-led council (Republicans have a 6-3 edge over Democrats) referred to mandates being from the Democratic-led legislature.

"I do understand the importance of this, obviously, with a rate increase of 19 percent," she said.

DePaolo said the no-shutoff mandate was a bipartisan piece of legislation, with state lawmakers from both sides of the aisle voting in favor of it.

"My understanding was it was a bipartisan bill that passed," she said.

In the end, the full council took out the "Democratic-led" wording from of the resolution, a proposal pitched by Chaplinsky and supported by his colleagues.

DePaolo said she believes PURA leadership opposes the rate change proposal as much as the council and is hopeful a resolution can be realized.

For the minutes of the April 8 Southington Town Council meeting, click on this link.