Governor Lamont continues to stumble explaining the coming energy rate shock. “It’s not doubling,” he insists on WTIC.

WTIC’s Brian Shactman raised a topic on many minds when he interviewed Governor Ned Lamont Wednesday morning. “Rates are going to double in a matter of days. Is there anything you can do or is there anything to be done to ease this?” the popular host asked. Shactman pointed out the burden of the increase in electricity costs will place on people with fixed and low incomes. The segment is posted above.

“Doubling this cost is brutal,” Shactman added. “First of all it’s not doubling,” the Greenwich Democrat replied, “but it is going to go up dramatically. Probably 45, 50% for some people.” Lamont rattled through some of the subsidies available to eligible residents and pointed out, as he has done in the past, that the hikes are higher in neighboring states, adding, “but who cares?”

Shactman pointed out that the rate increase that will begin punishing customers in January is from $0.12 to $0.24 per kilowatt hour for the first half of 2023. That’s double. The cost of electricity is doubling for most Connecticut customers. The distribution charge from Eversource and United Illuminating, a separate part of a utility bill, is not doubling.

This is not how any governor wants to begin a second term. Connecticut customers continue to pay the highest electricity rates in the continental United States. Connecticut and Massachusetts utility regulators will hold a joint hearing on January 3rd to discuss the hikes by Eversource, which does business in both states. The issue continues to flummox state officials. They acknowledge Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has roiled world energy markets. They also need a local target to blame for rates in New England rising higher than in other parts of the country.

The most important player will not be participating in Tuesday’s hearing: New York Governor Kathy Hochul. She could expand the natural gas pipelines that run through her state into New England, but will not. New Hampshire residents stopped a proposal to build transmission lines that would have carried hydro-electric energy into the New England grid.

Connecticut’s energy policy has been expensive and laden with crossed fingers. It has failed and in the winter crunch the blame will fall on our leaders.

Posted December 29, 2022.