CT town starts petition against electric rate increase. They invited everyone to sign it.

A Connecticut mayor and town council are asking others to join them in fighting an electrical rate increase, saying all those who agree should make their views known to the Public Utility Regulatory Authority.

Eversource last month notified utility regulators that it wants to raise electric rates, though the company said then it could keep the increase to 11 percent if it were permitted to take advantage of a new law that would extend collection of more than $1 billion in storm damage costs from customers by issuing state bonds.

The request for the increase has met with opposition across Eversource’s territory and from politicians, many of whom are currently running for office.

The company made known its intent to raise rates in a letter to the Public Utility Regulatory Authority. The letter made a case for a rate increase while also setting in motion a comprehensive financial analysis and eventual rate decision by regulators expected to begin in mid July and last a year.

The widely anticipated application to raise rates was the company’s first since 2018 and it came in below the 20 to 30 percent increase some utility analysts were predicting.

Now, Vernon Mayor Dan Champagne and the Vernon Town Council have made known their opposition to the Eversource request for a rate increase, and they started a petition they are circulating while asking state residents to join them.

The “mayor and council members signed a petition on Tuesday opposing the rate increase and you can too,” the town said in a statement. “All are welcome to sign the petition, regardless of town of residence. The petition will be forwarded to PURA.”

PURA was asked for a comment Wednesday.

“Here we go again,” Champagne said. “One of the most profitable utilities in the nation is asking its customers to pay more and more for electricity. It’s outrageous and we can’t afford it. I hope the people who will be forced to pay these rates will join us in telling Eversource ‘no way.’”

Champagne also expressed concern about taxpayers having to cover the increased cost of electricity for schools and other municipal buildings.

“Customers need a break,” Champagne said. “And because this rate increase will affect most Connecticut residents, we invite everyone affect to sign our petition, which can be found on the town website.”

Tricia Taskey Modifica, a spokesperson for Eversource, said, “Vernon’s town leaders are once again looking for headlines instead of solutions that are actually focused on addressing the pressing energy issues facing our state.

“The truth is, like other municipalities across Connecticut, the town of Vernon has directly benefited from the strategic investments we’ve made in the electric system over the last decade – which are exactly the costs that our rate review is centered on,” she said. “Thanks to our year-round efforts to replace aging infrastructure and our comprehensive vegetation management program, Vernon’s overall electric reliability score is higher than the state average, with the average customer experiencing an outage only once every 27 months.”

Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman has predicted the Eversource rate request would result in “one of the most consequential utility review proceedings in years” and said she will make recommendations that “ensure customers are not asked to pay for anything beyond the most necessary and cost-effective investments.”

Eversource has said the basis for the proposed rate increase is a half billion dollar revenue shortfall driven by nearly a decade of investment in network maintenance, reliability and storm response — costs which have risen sharply due to inflation.

It said about half the shortfall arises from about $3.3 billion the company put into what it has called its aging power delivery network. About $600 million of that is not included in the rates it was permitted to collect under the schedule set by PURA in 2018.

The other half of the shortfall is due to “core operating needs” such as rising operation and maintenance costs as well as vegetation control and storm related costs, which the company said have been driven up by inflation.

Modifica said Eversource investments “also generate significant property tax revenue for the town, upwards of one million dollars annually for Vernon from our electric infrastructure alone, which supports residents and important town services they rely on.

“Municipal leaders, including those in Vernon, also recognize how economic conditions have led to increased costs across the board in recent years,” she said. “For example, Vernon’s town budget has seen a more than 17% increase in the last seven fiscal years. In his budget request just this year, Vernon’s mayor attributed the increase he was asking for to needed town investments and rising costs of goods and services.

“Just as they’ve experienced higher operating costs and have had to raise more revenue from taxpayers to cover those costs, we are not immune to those same inflationary pressures that have driven up the costs of every pole, wire, and piece of equipment we operate across the state, and it’s been nearly a decade since we last requested a rate review,” Modifica said. “We are always eager and willing to meet with town leaders to discuss the impact of the critical work we do every day to support electric reliability and the investments we make on behalf of customers.”

In response to Eversource, a Vernon spokesman said, “A quick reminder for Eversource CT. The CEO of the Town of Vernon makes $32,939 a year. The CEO of Eversource makes nearly $37,000 a day. Both are paid by the public.”

U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, D-1, said he and a coalition of New England Democrats are urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject the New England Transmission Owners’ recent request to increase their profit margins, noting that Eversource, a member of the NETO, announced the planned rate hike.

“As the weather heats up, we should be making it more affordable for families to keep their homes cool—not pad the pockets of utility executives with baseless rate increases,” said Larson, in a statement. “Electricity bills are skyrocketing because of failed Trump policies at the federal level and profiteering by New England Transmission Owners, including a new request to increase their profit margins, a move that would further raise costs for ratepayers. While state leaders in Connecticut try to beat back Eversource’s burdensome 11% rate increase, I’m proud to lead a coalition of Democrats from across New England to oppose this new plan. Billion-dollar corporations and conglomerates have no right to prioritize their own greed at the expense of the people they claim to serve.”