After three months of paying dramatically higher electric rates, there may be some relief coming this summer for a majority of Connecticut electric customers.
The state's two largest electric distribution companies, Eversource Energy and The United Illuminating Co., are in the midst of procuring electricity for their standard offer service customers to use during the second half of this year. And although the procurement process won't be completed for several more weeks and new rates won't take effect until July1, officials with the companies and a spokesman for Connecticut's utility regulators have said they expect significantly lower electric rates than what most people are paying now.
"We should also be seeing a lowering of prices this summer," said Jim Shuckerow, Eversource Energy's director of electric supply. "We have a winter pricing problem, not a summer pricing problem."
The rates Eversource's standard offer customers are now paying are 31 percent to 42 percent higher than what they paid in 2022. UI standard offer customers are paying 28 percent to 38 percent more than in 2022.
Joe Cooper, a spokesman for Connecticut's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, said agency officials are "encouraged by the recent market trends and what that could mean for standard service rates come July 1."
"Historically, standard service rates generally decrease in the second half of the year as it is typically less expensive to generate electricity in the region during these months," Cooper said. "Comparatively, standard service rates increase in the first half of the year due to higher regional winter prices for natural gas, which fuels most of the region’s wholesale power."
Over the past decade, there have only been four occasions when Eversource or UI have seen standard service rates come in higher during the second half of the year than during the first six months.
Craig Gilvarg, a UI spokesman, said the Orange-based utility has already purchased 70 percent of the electricity it needs to supply standard service customers during the second half of this year.
'We are conducting a procurement on April 19 to procure the remaining 30 percent," Gilvarg said.
Both utilities will present their procurement results to PURA officials in late April for review. Cooper said PURA will announce the standard service electric rates in mid-May, 45 days in advance of when the new rates take effect on July 1.
The way Connecticut's standard service procurement process works, the utilities are only allowed to charge customers the amount that it cost them to purchase power from the electric generation companies.
In neighboring Massachusetts, regulators have approved a 58 percent reduction in electric rates for customers of National Grid who have that state's version of standard offer service. The rate reduction for National Grid's customers will take effect May 1.
Looking beyond the second half of this year into the first half of 2024, Shuckerow said he expects the broad swings in electric prices Connecticut consumers have seen to continue.
"The (off-shore) wind projects that are in the pipeline won't be built and producing electricity for a number of years," he said. "The same is true for the interconnection efforts to bring in hydroelectricity from Canada. That means we'll continue to see oscillation in electric prices for awhile."
luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
"electric" - Google News
April 03, 2023 at 04:06PM
https://ift.tt/CUTkhIF
CT electric rates expected to drop sharply starting July 1 - CT Insider
"electric" - Google News
https://ift.tt/v0P2kZs
https://ift.tt/VYlcr7k
No comments:
Post a Comment