Thousands Signing Vernon-Led Petition Against Electricity Rate Hike

VERNON, CT — Thousands of Connecticut residents are joining a movement against a proposed 19 percent increase spearheaded by Vernon officials.

Eversource officials have denounced the petition as rhetoric and is calling it a "misinformed strategy" that "would only create a further piling up of costs."

A second petition from AARP Connecticut is also circulating. It can be seen here.

Vernon's petition can be seen here.

More than 10,000 people across Connecticut have signed both petitions so far.

Vernon officials said their petition will be forwarded to the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, which oversees rate requests.

Along with their signatures, people from across Connecticut have written messages about how a 19 percent increase will affect them. People from Vernon, Southington, Waterbury, Southbury, Prospect, West Hartford, Ellington, Newtown, Avon and more describe "struggles" to pay existing electric bills with "no flexibility" left in their monthly budgets. Some comments seem a bit over-the-top, but nevertheless were written.

Said one Southington resident, "I'm sick of living in the dark to avoid high utility bills. Higher rates will most likely cause me to stop using air conditioning, which will put me at risk for heat stroke or death."

A signer from Vernon said he is a senior with limited income.

"Food, gas and utilities leave me short every month," the resident said. "Please don't raise it. Pretty soon I’ll be homeless at 74 years old.”

Another signer from Southington wrote that she has unplugged every device in her house not used on a daily basis and lights her home at night with only two 7-watt bulbs.

She wrote, "Will I need to unplug the stove or refrigerator next to keep my bill low? Will I chance dying in the summer months because I have to avoid using air conditioning to keep my bill affordable?"

Vernon Mayor Dan Champagne said people have made it clear that they cannot afford a 19 percent rate hike.

"These messages are heart-breaking and drive home the difficult situation so many Connecticut residents are in," Mayor Champagne said. "Here in Vernon we are doing our best to stand up for our residents and people across Connecticut. I hope the regulators at PURA stand up for all of us."

Two of Eversource's arguments for the increase are are legislative mandates and unpaid bills.

“How does increasing electric bills by 19 percent address the problem of people not paying their bills?” Vernon Town Administrator and Emergency & Risk Management Director MIchael Purcaro said. “This is not a political issue. In our society, electricity is a basic human need. For some people, having electricity is a matter of life or death."

He continued, "Regardless of Eversource's reasoning, a simple fact remains: Eversource has a voracious appetite for ratepayers' dollars and the result is record profits and out-of-control executive pay. It takes a lot of people on Social Security and small pensions to generate the kind of revenue that allows Eversource to give its executives millions of dollars in compensation. How much is enough? How much can rate payers bear? The Town of Vernon takes PURA at its word that comments from every signer of our petition will be read by regulators, Purcaro said. That’s why we made it easy for people to make their views known and their voices heard."

Vernon has made the petition available statewide.

Eversource has responded with a detailed statement:

"Vernon’s town leaders are dead wrong if they think their approach is anything other than a disservice to their constituents. This rate increase is almost entirely driven by state-mandated and approved programs, which we earn no profit on, and is exacerbated by regulatory policies that delayed and deferred costs. Vernon's misinformed strategy would only create a further piling up of costs which will lead to an even greater burden for customers next year, which we strongly oppose. Eversource has proposed solutions, with a clear explanation for this rate increase available at eversource.com/solutions. We remain engaged with key stakeholders as we advocate for customer-focused solutions and encourage anyone concerned about rate volatility to contact their legislator or the governor's office to tell PURA to employ policies that make rates predictable. If Vernon’s town leaders are interested in a constructive conversation about bill predictability, avoiding rate shock, and coming up with solutions, they’re always welcome to join us in the collaborative process we began months ago. Charged political rhetoric makes for good headlines but it does not accomplish anything for residents."