"How Better Policies Can Fix Our High Electric Bills," By Tina Courpas
Dear Neighbors:
I hope you and your families are well and enjoying August.
When knocking on doors in Greenwich and Stamford this past weekend, I learned that one issue dominated voters’ minds: THEIR ELECTRIC BILLS. This is an issue on which my opponent and I differ starkly.
CT’s Electricity Rates Are So HIGH…
Partly Due to “Natural Causes” - our geography, etc.
CT is a small state with limited natural sources of energy
Natural gas is cheap and plentiful in the Mid-Atlantic states, but the the existing pipeline from those states to Connecticut has limited capacity. Although expanding that capacity would lower CT’s energy prices, attempts to do so have failed thus far.
And Partly Due to Policy Decisions Which Lack Common Sense, including:
During COVID-19, 24 states including CT gave much-needed relief (in the form of electric bill moratoriums) to their citizens who were suffering from pandemic-related income declines. Connecticut’s moratorium stated that between Nov. 1 and May 1, if you didn’t pay your electric bill, your electricity would not be shut off. Many states lifted their moratoriums after a few months, but Connecticut’s moratorium lasted for four years, the longest in the US.
As a result, for the last four yeras, CT residents who did not pay their electric bills in the winter months have been allowed to receive their electriity free of charge. This created $200 million of unpaid electric bills. This month, the electric companies began recouping that $200 million by extra charges on our bills.
I Disagree with My Opponent’s Approach to this Problem
My Opponent Voted for the 2024 Budget Which Could Have, but Did Not Fix part of the Problem. In the 2024 budget, there was an opportunity to use Federal COVID-relief funds (which CT already had) to fund the $200 million shortfall created by unpaid electric bills. That proposal was rejected, and those funds were spent elsewhere.
I would have opposed the 2024 Budget, as many lawmakers did, and would have used the COVID funds to cover that $200 million shortfall, so that taxpayers were not required to do so through high utlity bills. Not only did the Budget as passed fail to fix the shortfall, but it violated CT’s Fiscal Guardrails. The Guardrails, established in 2017, have allowed CT to improve its bond rating (which reduces the interest paid on the state’s debt) and put its fiscal house in order.
I Would Have Addressed CT’s High Energy Cost Problem By:
Applying COVID relief funds to the problem. This approach would have used money allocated for this purpose, not create an extra cost for electric bill payers.
Maintaining Fiscal Discipline. Adhering to our Fiscal Guardrails is the only way to lower taxes and make CT affordable in the long run. The 2024 Budget, which my opponent voted for, violated them when they were just beginning to work.
Addressing CT’s High Energy Cost Problem by:
Granting PURA (Public Utilities Regulatory Authority) more autonomy, not continue under the auspices of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). This would give it more market-driven flexibility.
Removing Public Policy Costs from Your Electric Bills and Putting Them in the Budget. Subject these public programs to the democratic process, like all other public programs. This would allow them to be fully vetted, not tacked onto your bills without accountability.
Setting reasonable caps on future power purchase agreements (PPAs).
Our electric bills are in part an example of government exacerbating rather than solving problems. On the issue of your electric bill, I believe we need a course correction to common sense.
There is no substitute for hearing from you. Please reach out at any time by clicking here.
Best to you and your families,
Tina Courpas