Nearly nine in 10 Connecticut consumers favor having competition in the electric industry, a survey shows.
The New England Energy Alliance (NEEA) said 88 percent of Connecticut consumers support having the choice to buy electricity from alternative electricity suppliers in addition to utility companies.
The survey findings, the group says, counters proposed legislation in the General Assembly that would dampen competition in Connecticut’s wholesale and retail electricity marketplace which was established more than a decade ago along with four other New England States.
“These results show that a super majority of slightly more than 75 percent of consumers believe that competition among private companies is the best way to lower electricity prices, rather than creating greater state authority over the electricity industry,” said NEEA’s Executive Director Paul G. Afonso. “The findings offer important guideposts to the legislature regarding the opinion of ratepayers who are also voters.”
Meanwhile, 22 energy companies who claim to employ more than 3,400 Connecticut workers sent a letter Friday to state lawmakers, urging rejection of the energy bill as anti-competitive.
“We encourage the General Assembly not to rush to passage of this deeply flawed bill with all of its unintended consequences,” the letter said.
Among the signatories to the two-paragraph letter were NRG Energy, operator of power plants in Connecticut; Bridgeport Energy; Hess Corp.; and Direct Energy.
