Consumers Gain from Connecticut Governor’s Veto of Anti-Competition Energy Bill

Consumers scored a big victory this week when Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell vetoed legislation that would have rolled back important competitive reforms in the state’s electricity industry. “Electric competition has finally taken hold and ratepayers have begun to realize millions of dollars in savings each year,” Gov. Rell observed in her veto statement on Senate Bill 493. The bill was passed in the dead of night in the waning hours of a legislative session with limited input from stakeholders, threatening the state’s businesses and homeowners with higher energy rates.

Competition is creating economic and environmental benefits across the country, and Connecticut is no exception. Thousands of customers in the state receive their power from a competitive supplier and roughly half the total electricity consumed in the state is provided by competitive retailers. Prices fell nearly 50 percent across ISO-New England (ISO-NE) in 2009, and $9 billion has been invested in regional transmission either built or proposed across the region. Meanwhile, market-inspired innovation is thriving in Connecticut – the state now accounts for 33 percent of all demand response enrollment within ISO-NE.

Restricting options now available from the state’s burgeoning competitive market would result in reduced economic and environmental benefits for consumers. When power suppliers compete against one another, they provide the best possible service at the lowest cost to attract and retain customers. It is now imperative that Connecticut lawmakers uphold the governor’s veto, else they make the same mistake played out in Michigan, where a consumer backlash erupted when rates increased after competition was rolled back and consumers were denied access cheaper electricity from competitive power providers.

Connecticut consumers and legislative champions alike realized what was at stake with this well-meaning but misguided legislation. In a poll released just after the bill was introduced, 88 percent of consumers supported having competition in the electric industry and 75 percent believed that competition among private companies is the best way to lower electricity prices.

We congratulate Gov. Rell for standing up for Connecticut’s consumers, and encourage the members of the Connecticut Legislature to uphold the Governor’s veto so we can look forward to continued growth of the state’s competitive electricity market and economy.

Joel Malina | May 27, 2010