Lamont, Fazio offer preview on coming debate over electric rates

Gov. Ned Lamont and his Republican challenger, state Sen. Ryan Fazio of Greenwich, practiced campaign talking points on electric costs Tuesday while seated together at a meeting of the state Bond Commission and then in back-to-back press conferences in the atrium of the Legislative Office Building. The candidates are not scheduled to debate until next month, but Lamont chairs the Bond Commission and Fazio is one of two Republican lawmakers on the panel, which voted Tuesday to authorize $125 million in bonding to offset portions of what’s known as the public benefits charge on electric bills. Lamont, a Democrat seeking a third term, was happy to share credit for the item that will contribute to lower electric costs, noting later it arises that from legislation that passed in 2025 with the support of Fazio and nearly every member of the General Assembly. Fazio, the ranking Senate Republican on the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee, mildly noted during the commission meeting electricity remains expensive in Connecticut. “So I’d like to take the occasion just to say, while [this] will shift some of the costs in people’s electric bills temporarily, it’s a good time to remind ourselves that permanently we need to reduce many of these costs, both in the public benefits charge and the supply portion of our bill, as well,” Fazio said. “Thanks, Ryan,” Lamont replied. The public benefits charge covers various state-mandated policy programs such as clean energy procurements and benefits for low-income customers, as well as a long-term contracts to purchase carbon-free electricity, such as the state’s deal with Millstone Nuclear Power Station. Those contracts cost consumers extra when natural gas used to generate electricity is cheap, but benefit them when prices are high, as they are now. The gubernatorial candidates were less polite after the meeting in discussing Connecticut’s new status as a state with falling electric rates — they fell by 15% in May, a consequence of the largely disappearing public benefits charge from monthly bills and savings from the long-term contracts for electricity generated by nuclear power. Lamont responded sharply when asked about Fazio blaming him for the cost of electricity. “Then I’m the guy responsible for turning the public benefits charge into a credit, saving you about 15% on your on your bill as of, say, compared to a year ago,” Lamont said. “We’ve got a long way to go there. We’ve had the highest electric prices in the country going back 50 years.” Lamont blamed President Donald Trump for destabilizing the economy with an erratic approach to tariffs and orders that briefly halted the completion of an offshore wind project, Revolution Wind. Lamont said Trump’s trade war with Canada eventually could affect the cost and availability of power. “It’s no help when President Trump is talking about tariffs on hydro coming down from Quebec. It’s no help when he says he wants to pull the plug on Revolution Wind,” Lamont said. “Millstone, that contract is saving us money, with the incredibly high price of natural gas right now. Thank God we have that hedge because it’s saving our ratepayers hundreds of millions.” Fazio said blaming the governor for the cost of electricity was justified by the Lamont administration continuing to pursue measures lowering greenhouse gases, including requiring a certain amount of power be purchased from renewable sources that typically are more expensive. The current savings from the public benefits charge is temporary, Fazio said. “I heard the governor take credit — ‘I’ve eliminated the public benefits charge’ — even though he just signed a bill into law that’ll increase public benefits charges for the next 20 years,” Fazio said. “We all know that the public benefits charge is very volatile. Sometimes it’s as low as zero. Sometimes it’s as high as 30%. But it averages 15% to 20% and will continue to in the future.” The bill he referenced was House Bill 5340, a measure that extended Connecticut’s solar incentive programs over the objections of Republicans who argued that the proliferation of rooftop solar has become a costly burden on the rest of the state’s electric customers. CT Mirror reporter John Moritz contributed to this story.