Hartford Business Journal

20 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | DECEMBER 1, 2025 FOCUS | ALTERNATIVE ENERGY Digaunto Chatterjee, Eversource's senior vice president of engineering, speaking at HBJ's November energy forum, which was held in the Society Room in downtown Hartford. Photo | Luke Wayne Photography Rate Debate Top Eversource exec calls for removing public benefits charge from electric bills; Democratic lawmaker pushes back By Andrew Larson alarson@hartfordbusiness.com A top executive at the state's largest utility is renewing calls to remove the controversial public benefits charge from electric bills, reigniting debate over how Connecticut funds ener- gy-efficiency programs, renewable energy initiatives and assistance for low-income customers. At the Hartford Business Journal's Politics & Policy Forum on Nov. 13, Digaunto Chatterjee, Eversource's senior vice president of engineering, argued the charge should be taken off utility bills entirely and funded through the state budget. He said the current system confuses customers and obscures the true cost of state-mandated programs. "Every aspect, every line item, should be taken out of the bill," Chatterjee said during a panel discus- sion on renewable energy policy. "Not that we don't support it. I think a lot of those are legitimately useful programs. But when you take it out of the bill, what happens is accountability comes, and more awareness comes with it." State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg (D-Westport), co-chair of the Energy and Technology Committee, pushed back, calling the programs supported by the charge "investments we have to make," from energy efficiency to grid modernization. These efforts, he said, safeguard reliability "not only when you flip the switch, but when the storm comes through." He warned against proposals that promise quick savings. "There are a lot of people out there who would love to tell you that they've got the secret on how we can reduce energy rates for everybody, and they might be able to do a little bit for a short time, but that's not good policy either," Steinberg said. Republicans counter that the public benefits charge functions as a "hidden tax," funding government-man- dated programs without the transparency of the state budget. They argue the roughly $1 billion in annual costs should be paid through the general fund. Democrats and Gov. Ned Lamont have rejected that approach, saying shifting the full amount to the budget would require tax increases or cuts to other programs. The public benefits charge accounts for about 20% of a typical Eversource bill and just over 18% for United Illuminating customers. It pays for state and federal mandates including efficiency programs, low-income assistance, regional grid operator ISO-New England operating costs, and long-term contracts with power suppliers such as Millstone. The debate, likely to be brought up again during the upcoming legislative session, comes as the state continues to have some of the highest electricity rates in the country. In 2024, commercial customers in Connecticut faced the fourth-highest average electricity price in the nation at 21.21 cents per kilo- watt-hour, while industrial customers paid the sixth- highest rate at 17.12 cents, according to federal data. Fonfara's proposal The public benefits charge took center stage during the 2025 legislative session when state Sen. John Fonfara (D-Hartford), co-chair of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, proposed eliminating it and replacing the funding with up to $800 million a year in state-backed "green bonds" for three years. He argued the change could cut customer bills by about 20% right away, with the potential for additional savings. Eversource backed parts of the proposal, telling lawmakers that eliminating the charge could lower a typical residential bill by $40 to $55 a month for a household using 700 kilowatt-hours. But the bill never moved forward as written. Instead, legislators passed a separate measure that uses $155 million in state borrowing to partially offset the charge. Fonfara opposed the final bill. The change is expected to save customers about $5 to $10 a month through early 2027 — far less than what Fonfara had pushed for. At the HBJ forum, Fonfara repeated his argument that Connecticut shouldn't rely on electric bills to fund public programs, noting that most states do not. He also criticized the state for pursuing envi- ronmental goals through ratepayer dollars without fully accounting for the cost burden on residents and businesses. Growing charge The public benefits charge gained visibility in 2023 after lawmakers required utilities to list it as a separate line item on customers' bills — a change that arrived just as the fee rose sharply. The charge, which John Fonfara Jonathan Steinberg

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