Because Connecticut’s tax revenues are surging past projections, the state comptroller is urging Gov. Dannel Malloy and the General Assembly to repeal a surcharge on ratepayers’ electricity bills.
Connecticut’s state government was collecting a charge on the bills of Connecticut Light & Power residential customers to pay off the utility from its costs following deregulation, but the state kept collecting the charge even after the utility had been paid off.
With the state General Fund heading toward a $679.8 million surplus this fiscal year, the government no longer needs to collect the CL&P charge, Comptroller Kevin Lembo said.
The state already collected $40 million from the surcharge this year, and Lembo urged Malloy and the General Assembly to refund that amount to ratepayers.
The tax revenue surplus came from income tax, sales tax, inheritance tax and corporation tax. In addition to eliminating the electric surcharge, Lembo called on lawmakers to avoid issuing economic recovery notes.
