Gov. Lamont and DEEP say PURA ruling will cut Connecticut residential electric bills by about $30 a month

Gov. Lamont and state energy officials announced that a final decision by the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority will reduce residential electricity rates for Eversource and United Illuminating customers beginning May 1, with the average Eversource household saving about $30 a month and the average United Illuminating household saving about $34.

Katie Dykes, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said the roughly 14% overall rate reduction reflects changes to the public benefits charge and related components of the electric bill. "This significant reduction in residential electricity bills is driven by a decrease in the public benefits charge," Dykes said, noting DEEP and the Office of Consumer Counsel and Attorney General's Office participated as parties in the PURA proceeding.

Officials said two principal factors produced the change: long-term, fixed-price contracts with the Millstone and Seabrook nuclear plants negotiated in 2019, and provisions of Senate Bill 4 (Public Act 25-173) enacted last year. The administration said the Millstone/Seabrook contracts have returned substantial value to ratepayers — about $250 million in 2025 and about $200 million in 2026 to date — and that those revenues are being applied through the public benefits mechanism so the charge now appears as a modest credit rather than an additional fee.

"Starting in about 8 days your Eversource bill is going to be about $30 less," Gov. Lamont said. He described the Millstone deal as a hedge that locked in near-5¢/kWh pricing and said the hedge protected customers when fossil-fuel prices spiked during extreme weather and international disruptions.

Dykes and the governor outlined other changes in Public Act 25-173 that contributed to lower bills. The law authorized bonding to address hardship and arrearage programs; she corrected an earlier misspoken figure in the briefing and identified $155 million already allocated to cover some arrearage and program costs, with an additional $145 million in bonding authorization available for 2026. Dykes said updates to the renewable portfolio standard and strengthened oversight of transmission investment are expected to lower generation and transmission charges by about $50–60 million and $5 million, respectively, this year.

Officials also said PURA reserved $100 million in the recent decision so those funds can be applied toward storm-recovery costs that PURA later adjudicates rather than returning that portion to customers as an immediate credit. DEEP described the securitization process authorized under SB4 as the likely mechanism for addressing storm costs after PURA's prudency review is complete.

Officials cautioned that the credit reflects current contract performance and over-collections and is not a permanent guarantee against all future rate increases. "Eversource earlier today expressed concern that once that refund runs out in the next year the prices could go back up," Dykes said. Gov. Lamont echoed that point, noting usage patterns (for example, higher air-conditioning use in summer) and future market conditions could affect customers' net bills even as rates fall.

Looking ahead, the administration noted an open regional request for proposals for next-generation nuclear resources and said it will evaluate bids with other New England states. PURA, DEEP and other parties will continue rate dockets and prudency reviews to set future rates and to manage volatility.

The PURA decision is effective May 1. Officials urged customers to consider usage in assessing their own bills and said federal funds and programmatic measures remain available to support energy efficiency and affordable cooling for vulnerable customers.