Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

November 13, 2024

Eversource-owned Yankee Gas seeks $209M rate hike

PHOTO | Contributed A crew working on a Yankee Gas pipeline.
By Andrew Larson

Eversource Energy’s natural gas utility, Yankee Gas, has requested a $209 million rate hike, effective Nov. 1, 2025, in an application filed with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) Tuesday.

If approved as proposed, Yankee Gas’ revenue would increase 29% and customers would see their heating bills rise by 43% annually – an average monthly increase of $46.74.

To offset the impact, Yankee Gas has also proposed to credit customers with about $37.4 million in deferred non-firm margin, which would reduce the overall revenue increase from 29% to about 24%. 

A gas utility’s deferred non-firm margin includes revenue earned by the company through interruptible and off-system sales. 

With the credit, customers would see a roughly 38% annual bill increase.

State officials and legislators quickly condemned the proposed increase.

“Read the room, Eversource,” said Attorney General William Tong. “Connecticut families are fed up with sky high energy costs and can’t afford this massive increase. This is yet another tone-deaf slap in the face from our out-of-touch public utilities.”

Tong went on to say that Yankee Gas is overreaching in its request, asking for profits that are “completely out of whack with other public utilities.”

State Sen. Ryan Fazio, ranking senator on the Energy and Technology Committee, Sen. Jeff Gordon and Sen. Minority Leader Stephen Harding issued a statement urging PURA to “evaluate this filing in a probing fashion and defend consumers with all legal authority at their disposal.”

“Family budgets in Connecticut are already badly strained,” the statement says. “Yet majority Democrats in the state legislature still have no plan to address already sky-high utility bills.”

A spokesperson for Eversource said that Yankee Gas, which hasn’t filed a rate case in six years, is seeking the increase due to substantial investments in its natural gas distribution system to ensure safe and reliable service.

“Recent PURA precedent has led to regulatory outcomes that result in higher costs for customers over shorter periods of time,” the spokesperson, Sarah Paduano, said. “To avoid that, we’re presenting a proactive approach that directly addresses the costs needed to ensure the safety and reliability of the natural gas system while proposing a new performance based regulatory plan that sets rates over multiple years.”

Yankee Gas provides natural gas distribution service to customers in 85 municipalities in Connecticut, serving roughly 252,300 customers.

Sign up for Enews

Most Recent

Most Recent

0 Comments

Order a PDF