Starting January 1 of this year, Eversource residential customers in Connecticut who haven’t elected a third-party supplier, will see the supply portion of their electric bill more than double. This is after the Eversource standard service rate jumped from 12.05 cents per kilowatt hour to 24.17 cents per kilowatt hour on January 1, 2023. Eversource’s power supply rates are set twice a year with six-month terms – January through June and July through December.
But state residents have a fairly easy way to reduce this price.
Electric bills in Connecticut have two components – power supply and delivery charge. While power is delivered through the infrastructure of local providers, like Eversource and United Illuminating, the delivery charge is set by the utility and there is nothing one can be done to lower it. However, since Connecticut is a deregulated state, local residents have the option to purchase power from a third-party supplier, meaning that the supply portion of the bill can be reduced, sometimes substantially.
Third-party power supply prices, options and information are easily available by going to https://www.energizeCT.com and then clicking on Rate Board. Here’s a direct link to the residential power supply options: https://energizect.com/rate-board/compare-energy-supplier-rates?customerClass=1201&monthlyUsage=1000&planTypeEdc=1191.
On the left side of the page, there are options to choose your utility (Eversource or United Illuminating) and to narrow the search, including entering your estimated monthly usage so that you can see the estimated monthly savings for each option. Eversource’s, or United Illuminating’s, rate card and information is always listed at the top of the list for easy comparison with the lowest offer just below it.
Listed rates can change at any time, but a quick check this morning, Friday, January 6, 2023, showed the lowest option for a rate from a third-party supplier was for 15.29 cents per kWh with a fixed rate for 34 billing cycles (that’s almost three years). This translates to savings of more than $88 per month for an average household that uses 1,000 kWh of power per month compared with Eversource’s standard generation rate. Of course, savings will be less or more depending on usage. Also, how much is saved every month can change for each rate 6-month rate Eversource rate cycle. And if Eversource drops their rate below the one you switched to, and if you decide to take advantage of it, you can always return to the standard generation rate by calling Eversource and they are required to switch you back to their rate within 72 hours! (https://energizect.com/rate-board/choosing-a-supplier)
It’s also important to note that in Connecticut, third-party suppliers cannot charge cancellation fees to residential customers who want to change suppliers or return to the standard generation option. So, the horror stories of excessive cancellation fees from years ago are now forbidden in the state and switching suppliers is as easy as signing up for a new one or returning to the standard rate.
Switching is as easy as clicking on the corresponding Enroll Now link on the rate card listed on the website and following the sign up process on the selected third-party supplier website. Keep in mind that suppliers can be switched only at the beginning of the billing cycle, and it could take 10 days or more for the switch to be processed, so depending on when you requested the change you might not see the new suppler (and lower supply rate) until two bills later.
