A greater portion of Connecticut’s residential electric ratepayers have been paying higher prices to retail suppliers instead of paying standard-offer prices set by the state’s two major utilities, according to the Office of Consumer Counsel.
The OCC has issued reports on third-party “competitive” suppliers since 2014. The latest data released Monday, for March, shows that 65.3 percent of Eversource customers who opted for competitive suppliers paid a total of $3.2 million more than they would have under the standard rate offered by Eversource. Last March, 51.9 percent paid an additional $1.8 million to competitive suppliers.
Avangrid customers also paid more in the recent month to alternative suppliers — a total of $244,795 more than the standard Avangrid offer. Of those customers with a retail supplier, 44.7 percent paid more than standard-offer rates in March, up from 40.5 percent last March.
Competitive suppliers have been losing market share in recent years, as customers return to utilities for electricity supply.
As of March, retail suppliers served 28 percent of Eversource’s customers, down from 31 percent a year ago. Meanwhile, retail suppliers in Avangrid territory saw their market share remain flat at 36 percent, OCC said.
