Today, Senate Democrats unveiled the “Ratepayers First Act,” their flagship energy legislation in the 2025 legislative session. The bill seeks to address costs, enhance the reliability of Connecticut’s power grid, increase energy production, and ensure utilities prioritize ratepayers ahead of shareholders. Legislators have heard constituents’ frequent and warranted complaints about the cost of energy in Connecticut and are seeking substantial changes to state energy practices that relieve those costs while still working within the state’s long-term energy goals.
“The future is complicated, to say the least, when it comes to Connecticut’s energy grid,” said Senate President Martin M. Looney. “Future demand on the power grid, fluctuations in energy markets, new growth and investments in our communities all represent increased consumption, and as a result, we’re pursuing more options in generation to make sure our state can meet future challenges. Reliability, trust and quality service are all musts to protect citizens’ best interests. Senate Democrats and Senator Needleman have been adamant for years that ratepayers deserve the best services our state can provide, and together we will once again lead on this important issue.”
“High costs remain a major source of frustration for Connecticut ratepayers, and rightfully so,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff. “To address this, we are planning to review all of our state energy policies to find areas of improvement. I’m grateful for Senator Needleman’s constant and meaningful focus on how our power grid impacts Connecticut residents and his approach toward beneficial improvements.”
“Connecticut’s energy needs and market are changing faster than most of us can keep up with, but my colleagues and I remain committed to working for the best interests of ratepayers and businesses,” said State Senator Norm Needleman. “We need a multi-pronged approach that’s cutting costs, enhancing our grid, and looking to the future, where more sources of energy generation will be increasingly necessary. Addressing these issues now, rather than a half-decade down the line, represents our work to keep the lights on for years to come.”
The bill seeks to address the high cost of energy in Connecticut, ensure and retain reliability of services, enhance and support energy production in-state and ensure that utilities consider ratepayer needs as much as quarterly dividends for their shareholders.
Reducing Costs For Ratepayers
The legislation seeks to evaluate any and all mechanisms to reduce costs for ratepayers. One potential example of this includes involves the potential shift of electric vehicle charging programs into transportation bonding, reducing future costs and ending ratepayer subsidization of EV infrastructure and installation.
Improving Power Grid Reliability
Under this bill, lawmakers will seek to build upon accountability measures achieved in past legislative efforts, including those earned in 2020’s Take Back Our Grid Act and 2023’s Senate Bill 7, that emphasize the performance of utilities in order to ensure preventable power outages become less frequent while supporting the tireless efforts of line workers across the state.
Increasing Power Production In Connecticut
Lawmakers aim to increase the power supply available to Connecticut in order to meet demand that is ever-growing across the state. Strategies to achieve this may include increased focus on the adoption of a variety of generation options, including but not limited to solar and nuclear power. New use of solar could include new opportunities and incentives to support residential and business adoption on an individual basis up to large-scale regulatory shifts that would allow for large solar energy arrays, whether on unused or underutilized land or by utilizing state-owned land. New nuclear sources of energy would largely involved incentivization of deploying small modular reactors, which would require changes to the state’s nuclear moratorium.
Long-term views of the state’s power grid continue to become more necessary, especially regarding diversification of supply. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, natural gas represents as much as 60% of electricity generation in Connecticut as of 2023; as the natural gas market has faced spikes in cost and supply in recent years due to global pressures, ensuring alternative sources remain in place will play a significant role in ensuring reliability in decades to come.
Ratepayers Over Shareholders
Finally, they seek to ensure ratepayers and customers remain utilities’ primary interest over quarterly profits and shareholder payouts. In doing so, they will continue to pursue pro-ratepayer measures achieved in the Take Back Our Grid Act and SB7, while pursuing new options that can better ensure accountability for utilities; one such measure could involve requiring state utilities, due to their statewide roles, lack of competition and close relationship with state government, to comply with state Freedom of Information Act laws.
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