Connecticut
Connecticut uses electricity to hide cost of government
February 25, 2024 6:00 am
• Last Updated: February 23, 2024 1:02 pm
Feeling unusually put upon by state government, Connecticut’s two major electric utility companies, Eversource and United Illuminating, are pushing back, which is good, since, whatever their faults, they are too easily demagogued against, as nearly everybody hates electric companies, electricity being too expensive.
Connecticut has the second highest electricity costs in the country. But now the utilities, which formerly only grumbled privately about the biggest reason, are talking openly about it: government policy.
The forthcoming rate increases, expected to be around 19%, are reported to be entirely the result of two state government mandates.
The first mandate requires the utilities to purchase the production of the Millstone nuclear power plant in Waterford, electricity that sometimes is cheaper than other sources and sometimes isn’t. State government has concluded that keeping Millstone operating is vital to Connecticut’s energy security.
The second mandate requires the utilities to keep providing electricity to customers who consider themselves too poor to pay for it. Whereupon that cost is transferred to customers who don’t consider themselves too poor to pay and whose rates go up.
Quite apart from those mandates, Eversource long has estimated that 15-20% of its charges to customers arise from state mandates having little or nothing to do with the cost of the production or delivery of electricity.
Then there is the failure of Connecticut to import more natural gas, largely the result of New York’s obstruction of new pipelines from the west.
The co-chairman of the General Assembly’s Energy and Technology Committee, Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Essex, accuses Eversource of trying to make customers pay for a cash-flow problem the company suffered as a result of its recent “wind-power investment gamble.” But even there state government has to share responsibility. After all, why would electric companies “gamble” on wind power if government wasn’t encouraging “green” energy and setting targets for accomplishing it?
The state government policies affecting electric rates are not necessarily wrong. But recovering their costs by hiding them in electricity bills, as Connecticut does, is dishonest. It deliberately misleads the public into thinking that the utilities are responsible for high rates when they are the work of government.
There is no social justice in requiring electricity users who pay their bills to pay as well for users who don’t pay. The cost of people who don’t pay their electric bills easily could be drawn against everyone from general taxation. Even the much bigger cost of subsidizing Millstone could be paid directly from general tax revenue.
Of course other taxes might have to be raised, but then people would see that it wasn’t the big, bad utilities that took their money but that their own state legislators and governor did. Then people would be prompted to make a judgment on the policies behind the extra costs.
But hiding the cost of government in the cost of living is practically a principle of government in Connecticut. State taxes and the cost of state government policies are concealed not just in electricity rates but also in wholesale fuel taxes and medical and insurance bills so that energy companies, hospitals, doctors and insurers take the blame, just as electric companies do.
Indeed, hiding the cost of government in the cost of living is now a primary principle of the federal government as well, with trillions of dollars in government expense being covered not by taxes but by borrowing, debt, the resulting money creation, and thus by inflation, which most people imagine is a force of nature, like the weather, something beyond human control.
Inflationary finance prevents people from asking their members of Congress inconvenient questions, like: How much more war in Ukraine, other stupid imperial wars, illegal immigration, Social Security, Medicare and new subsidy programs can we afford?
With their new candor about the origin of high electricity prices the utility companies are taking a big risk. Through the Public Utilities Control Authority, the governor and legislators can punish the companies expensively for telling the truth. But state government’s deception of the public is already expensive.
Chris Powell has written about Connecticut government and politics for many years. He can be reached at CPowell@cox.net.
Connecticut
Florida High School State Bronze Medalist Dajah German Verbals To Connecticut For Fall 2027
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Florida high school state bronze medalist Dajah German has announced her verbal commitment to swim and study at the University of Connecticut beginning in the fall of 2027. She publicized the news on SwimCloud, writing:
I am so excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at the University of Connecticut! I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who has supported me throughout this journey, my family, coaches, teammates, and friends who have pushed me to be my best throughout the years. And a very special thank you to Coach Chris and Coach Nicole for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I’m so excited for what’s ahead. GO HUSKIES!
A rising senior at Fort Lauderdale High School in Florida, German trains year-round with Swim Fort Lauderdale and primarily specializes in the sprint and middle-distance freestyle events.
German has improved each year of her high school career, most recently dropping from 23.78, 51.39, and 1:50.56 in the 50/100/200 free to 23.54, 51.35, and 1:49.69 during the 2025-26 short course season.
German’s top meet of the season was the Florida Senior Championships in March, where she recorded her current PBs in both the 50 and 200 free. She finished second in the 500 free (4:55.94) and 1650 free (17:02.78), third in both the 50 free and 200 free, and fifth in the 100 free (51.43). She set her current 100 free PB at a smaller holiday meet in December. In the 500 free, she clocked a season-best 4:55.21 at the Speedo Cup in January, with her lifetime best of 4:53.19 coming at the 2025 Florida Senior Championships.
German has qualified for the FHSAA (Florida High School Athletic Association) State Championships for the past three years, with her top performance coming at the 2025 iteration in November. She placed third in the 50 free (23.96), fifth in the 500 free (5:01.12), and helped Fort Lauderdale to fourth place in both the 200 free relay (24.64 leadoff) and 400 free relay (53.08 anchor).
Top SCY Times:
- 50 Freestyle: 23.54
- 100 Freestyle: 51.35
- 200 Freestyle: 1:49.69
- 500 Freestyle: 4:53.19
A Division I Mid-Major program, Connecticut competes in the Big East, with the women’s team placing second out of seven teams at this past season’s conference championships. German’s current lifetime bests would have placed third in the 200 free, fourth in the 500 free, eighth in the 50 free, and ninth in the 100 free, setting her up as an immediate contributor with two full seasons of training still ahead before her first conference meet.
German joins Anna Mumford, Lyla Devlin, Lena Brown, and Louisa Holda in committing to the Huskies’ class of 2031 so far.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].
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Here are the forecast details for northern Connecticut via the National Weather Service:
Today: Sunny, with a high near 80. Light west wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday: A chance of showers before 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 2pm and 4pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Monday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 59. Southeast wind around 8 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.
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