Eversource, UI: Standard Electric Service Supply Rates Anticipated To Increase This Winter In Connecticut

CONNECTICUT — Eversource Energy Monday was warning residents that the Standard Service winter supply rate is expected to increase in 2026, compared to last year's winter charges.

Meanwhile, United Illuminating said that, beginning January 1, UI residential customers will see bills that are 4 percent lower bills compared to winter 2025 due to lower Public Benefits Charge, and 3 percent higher bills than those of the summer of 2025 due to consistently higher supply rates in winter than in summer.

Eversource

"As winter approaches in New England, energy costs typically rise due to increased demand and limited natural gas supply, which is heavily relied upon for both electricity generation and heating," Eversource officials said. "As a result of these ongoing challenges, the price of electricity purchased on behalf of customers is expected to increase."

According to Eversource officials, starting Jan. 1, the Standard Service charge is presumed to go to 12.64 cents per kilowatt hour. That is a change of approximately 13 percent from last winter's rate of 11.19 cents per kWh.

"Customers are encouraged to take control of their energy supply costs by shopping for competitive rates at EnergizeCT.com," Eversource officials said.

In Connecticut, the Standard Service supply rate changes twice a year — on Jan. 1 and July 1. The rate is typically higher in the winter due to "regional supply constraints and market volatility," Eversource officials said.

The rate is determined through a prescribed regulatory process overseen by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in coordination with utilities and the Office of Consumer Counsel.

Since the restructuring of the electric industry in Connecticut more than two decades ago, electric distribution companies like Eversource are prohibited from generating electricity. Instead, companies are required to procure power from generators on the wholesale market through a highly transparent process on behalf of customers who choose not to buy power from a third-party supplier. The most competitive offers that meet Connecticut’s clean energy standards are submitted to PURA for approval. Eversource does not profit from the provision of Standard Service supply.

"Energy supply continues to be the largest and most volatile part of a customer’s electric bill,” Eversource President of Connecticut Electric Operations Steve Sullivan said. "While we don’t control the prices set by power generators, we work closely with state partners to secure the best possible rate for Standard Service customers. Customers also have the option to compare and potentially lock in lower rates with alternative suppliers through EnergizeCT.com. With usage typically increasing during the winter months, we want to remind customers that if they’re struggling to pay their bill, Eversource offers a variety of programs including financial assistance, flexible payment plans, and energy efficiency solutions."

If approved by PURA, the Standard Service supply rate for residential customers would increase from the current summer rate of 9.75 cents per kWh to 12.64 cents per kWh starting Jan. 1. The rate change is independent of all other regularly scheduled rate adjustments, will be reflected in the Supply portion of a customer’s bill, and does not have an impact on the rates under Local Delivery, Transmission, and Public Benefits.

United Illuminating

United Illuminating, a subsidiary of Avangrid, Inc., has announced that residential customers will see a 4 percent decrease in their monthly overall electric rates in winter 2026 compared to winter 2025 (Jan. 1 through June 30) and a 3 percent increase in monthly electric rates compared to the current summer rates period (July 1 through Dec. 31, reflecting "stability in the market." From January 1- through June 30, 2026, the average residential UI customer using 700 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity will pay $252.12. In the same period in 2025, the average residential UI customer paid $262.97, whereas in the current summer period, the average residential UI customer is paying $244.28.

The bill changes are driven primarily by the components of the electric bill that are outside UI's control, as decreases in the Public Benefits Charge that took effect this fall combine with supply rates that are virtually always higher in the winter than in the summer. The cost of energy supply and the Public Benefits Charge are pass-through costs for UI; UI does not mark up, control, or profit from supply rates or the Public Benefits Charge.

"Following several years of wildly fluctuating electricity supply rates, I am glad to see some stability return to this marketplace, which limits rate shock for customers,” said Frank Reynolds, the president and CEO of UI. "While we have not controlled or profited from electricity supply costs in nearly 30 years, we know customers are counting on us to advocate for ways to bring more electricity supply into New England that will lower these rates over the long term. In the meantime, UI is here to help our customers, especially those facing financial hardship, and I encourage customers who are struggling to pay their electricity bill to take advantage of our many assistance programs and to explore their options for alternate energy suppliers at www.EnergizeCT.com."

The decreases in the overall winter electric bill between this year and last year are driven by the state legislature’s decision to cut the Public Benefits Charge using state bonding funds, which went into effect in September 2025. The supply rate, meanwhile, will change very little year-over-year between winter 2025 (13.57 cents per kWh) and winter 2026 (13.70 cents per kWh), an increase of 0.9 percent for residential UI customers. Electricity supply rates in the wintertime are virtually always higher than in the summer, a trend that will hold in the first half of 2026 as supply rates increase to 13.70 cents per kWh from 11.68 cents per kWh currently (July 1 through Dec. 30).

The customary winter rate increase is due to constrained fuel supply: while natural gas is used to fuel the majority of New England’s electricity generation, many customers across the region also utilize natural gas for residential and commercial heating. The high demand requires supplemental fuel supplies of imported Liquefied Natural Gas and fuel oil in the colder months, which drives up the cost of electricity generation.

For approximately 83 percent of UI customers who opt to use the standard service supply rate, UI procures energy supply on their behalf under the oversight of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA); per Connecticut law, the charges represent a complete pass-through cost collected from customers on behalf of energy supplier companies, with no profit or mark-up to UI. Electricity supply rates change twice per year, on January 1 and July 1. Connecticut, along with all New England states except Vermont, deregulated electricity supply in the late 1990s, meaning that UI does not own electricity generation facilities and does not have a role in setting its price. To determine the price of its standard service offering, UI purchases, or procures, electricity at the market rate from generating companies and passes it on to customers. This procurement process, which is overseen and signed off on by PURA, takes place in four procurements at different times throughout the year, which intends to balance any swings in the market.