(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong released the following statement today regarding the announcement from Eversource that standard services rates will rise by 24 percent in January, resulting in a total average bill increase of 7.2 percent.

“More awful news from our out-of-touch public utilities. Let’s get real—this is not a decrease. This is yet another increase on top of the exorbitant bills that already hit this summer. I don’t pretend to have all the answers to Connecticut’s energy affordability crisis, but we’ve got to do better than this. These rates are the result of a competitive bidding process. This is pretty much set in stone at this point. But that doesn’t mean we just need to take it and move on. Connecticut families have a right to be outraged, and have a right to demand better. Everything has to be on the table, and that includes reckoning with why New England has the highest electric transmission costs per mile of anywhere else in the country. That includes reckoning with the consequences, both positive and negative, of the Millstone deal. That includes how we pay for the cost of necessary programs that have kept the lights on for families facing unprecedented challenges. That must include a real commitment from our public utilities to stop their onslaught of padded revenue demands. In the meantime, I’m going to keep doing what I do every day—which is to fight for ratepayers in every single proceeding before PURA and to push back in every way I can against these exorbitant and unsustainable increases,” said Attorney General Tong.

Electric standard service rates are set twice a year, for January through June and July through December. Winter prices are typically higher, with this year no different. This year’s winter rate is 24 percent lower than last year’s winter rate, and the lowest winter rate since 2021. The rates are set by competitive auction. Utilities do not earn a profit, and the Office of the Attorney General does not have a role in approving or setting these rates.