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October 20, 2015

Most third-party electric providers found to overcharge consumers

The state Office of Consumer Counsel says consumers are paying inflated prices for the delivery of electricity. Collectively they paid $10 million more than the standard rate.

Data provided to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shows 86 percent of Eversource customers and 77 percent of United Illuminating (UI) customers paid more than the standard service rate in August if they used a retail electric supplier, with some customers paying prices as high as 23.7 cents per kilowatt hour.

"Some suppliers are charging certain customers more than twice the standard service rate, even in

the summer months. [My office] has determined that between January and August of this year, Connecticut customers of electric suppliers, as a group, paid more than $23 million more for electricity than if they had been on standard service,” said Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz.

She identified 12 providers charging more than 20 percent of their customers 13.9 cents per kilowatt hour, which is 50 percent more than the CL&P standard rate. Palmco Power CT LLC inflated prices for 89.1 percent of its customers using Eversource and 90.53 percentof its customers using UI.

Eversource, which serves 1,107,562 residential customers in Connecticut, has reported that 384,437 of its customers – representing 34.7 percent – are served by retail electric suppliers. UI, which serves 297,408 residential customers, reported that 114,542 of its customers – representing 38.5 percent – are served by electric suppliers.

Legislation passed this year prohibits electric suppliers from signing up customers for variable rate contracts with rates that can change monthly and from renewing existing contracts into variable rates. The prohibition began Oct. 1, but applies only to new contracts and contracts that are renewed after then. It does not eliminate variable rates if a customer was on such a rate as of Oct. 1.

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