Callahan: It’s Time for Connecticut To Rethink The Public Benefits Charge

**News Release Submitted by State Rep. Patrick Callahan**

It’s Time for Connecticut To Rethink The Public Benefits Charge

Nearly a quarter of the costs on utility bills doesn't go toward bringing power to your door. The so-called Public Benefits Charge (PBC) accounts for about 20% of users' bills. Call it a charge, a fee, or a tax, but what it boils down to is an involuntary contribution by all ratepayers.

This long-standing charge skyrocketed in recent years and things came to a head when a bill passed by the Connecticut General Assembly mandated that Eversource and United Illuminating more clearly outline what people are paying for. This is good for transparency and should lead to changes. When ratepayers realized they were paying dozens of additional charges on their bills they understandably were, and are still, outraged.

A bill I opposed during the 2023 session was signed into law and allows stakeholder groups to recover costs for participating in PURA docket.

Inside Investigator recently published an article that found tens of thousands of dollars was charged to ratepayers to cover things like childcare, participant stipends, food, transportation, and executive director pay for a nonprofit to hold workshops on how to participate in dockets before the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). In addition, the Office of the Consumer Counsel questioned that group's request for drafting testimony on a docket that did not, at the time take written comment and filing fees when PURA doesn’t charge filing fees.

Some of the programs that are part of the PBC, there are dozens of them all lumped together, could benefit ratepayers as they are related to delivery and grid reliability. But they should be funded through Connecticut's budgeting process so they can be reviewed for effectiveness.

If these programs are truly priorities, I don't see why my Democratic colleagues would have an issue with an open debate and vote on funding them.

House and Senate Republicans formally proposed removing the PBC from bills at the start of the 2025 session. SB 4, which passed this year, made some progress toward this effort. The bill bonds for two of the dozens of programs that make up the PBC -- the ones that support low-income households and to pay for debt racked up during COVID, when the Governor's emergency orders allowed services to continue without payment for four years.

Programs that fund energy efficiency and renewable energy should not be a debt placed on the
backs of ratepayers.

You and I should not be paying for someone else to install an electric vehicle charger at their house. If you want to get an EV, that's your prerogative, but all ratepayers shouldn't have to bear the cost of fueling it with electricity. The same with solar panels. Your neighbor is not benefitting from that installation, so why should they have to pay for the array?

What Connecticut needs is a serious energy policy that will provide abundant and affordable energy for our state. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not a solution, but a costly Band Aid that again overburdens Connecticut’s middle class. While there is a place for renewables in our energy portfolio, we need access to more natural gas and a cohesive plan to increase nuclear energy in our State.

In the meantime, Connecticut should seriously consider eliminating the Public Benefits Charge in its current form and reduce the unfair burden that has been placed on ratepayers.

State Representative Patrick Callahan is the 108th District Representative for New Fairfield,
New Milford, Sherman, and Danbury. More information about Rep. Callahan and the public
hearing process can be found on his website, RepCallahan.com.