Danbury Rep. Helps Pen Letter to Investigate Eversource Rate Hike

Many of our local listeners were shocked this month when they took a look at their Eversource electric bill. Now State Regulators want to know what's going on.

As we reported earlier this week, many local residents got a big surprise when they saw their most recent Eversource bill, many couldn't believe what they saw. In fact, some are saying it's the highest their electric bill has ever been.

Since the bills got delivered, more than 86,000 people have signed a petition to fight higher delivery charges, and that has prompted state lawmakers to take action.

A letter sent by a bipartisan group, which includes Danbury Representative David Arconti, calls on state regulators to eliminate the delivery rate that increased at the beginning of July.

According to nbcconnecticut.com, an Eversource spokesperson claims the higher electric usage is primarily due to people being home more during the recent coronavirus shutdown, thus using more electricity, and running air conditioners more as well.

As we previously reported, Eversourse argues that the higher delivery rate was caused by the company just passing along fees from other outside sources.

Here's what Eversourse spokesperson Mitch Gross had to say once the bills went out:

First of all, there is money for us so we can continue to give you a strong and reliable electric system. A portion of that, those delivery system charges, go to us so we can do the work we need to do. On top of that, there are state programs. There are taxes, both on the state and federal level. There are all kinds of fees that are built into that side of the bill. Starting July 1, some of those delivery items did go up.

Now customers want an explanation, and they want something done about the delivery rate. Gross did issue another statement from the company addressing customers concern and demands for a bill adjustment:

No adjustment can occur to your bill without review and approval by state regulators, the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. We must run everything by them before you see anything change on your bill.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has accepted the letter from the lawmakers, and said it will rule on the motion to roll back the delivery rate, but not until it receives feedback from stakeholders and other Eversource customers.

If you have a problem or concern with your Eversource bill, PURA is urging all Connecticut residents to contact their customer service representatives with questions or complaints, this feedback will all be included in their open investigation.

You can reach out to PURA by calling 1-800-382-4586, or send them an email at pura.information@ct.gov