Connecticut’s two largest electric utilities are preparing for new winter supply rates that will take effect Jan. 1, with both companies seeing increases in electricity supply costs.
United Illuminating Co., a subsidiary of Avangrid Inc., said its supply rate will rise to 13.70 cents per kilowatt-hour for winter 2026, up slightly from 13.57 cents last winter and up from the current summer rate of 11.68 cents.
Despite the supply rate increase, the average residential customer using 700 kilowatt-hours of electricity will pay $252.12 per month from January through June 2026, a 4% decrease from the same period in 2025, when the average bill was $262.97.
UI attributed the overall bill decrease to a reduction in the state’s public benefits charge, which lawmakers cut in September using bonding funds.
Eversource Energy, meanwhile, announced its standard service supply rate will rise to 12.64 cents per kilowatt-hour, a 13% increase from last winter’s 11.19 cents, and up from the current summer rate of 9.75 cents.
The Office of Consumer Counsel said Tuesday that Eversource customers will pay about $10 a month more than in the 2025 winter period and UI customers will pay about $1 per month more.
Both utilities said the higher winter supply rates reflect constrained natural gas supplies and increased heating demand, which drive up wholesale electricity costs during colder months.
Both companies emphasized that supply rates are pass-through costs set through a regulatory process overseen by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. Neither company profits from the supply portion of customer bills.
Connecticut deregulated electricity supply in the late 1990s, meaning utilities procure power from generators but do not own generation facilities.
“Following several years of wildly fluctuating electricity supply rates, I am glad to see some stability return to this marketplace,” UI President and CEO Frank Reynolds said.
Eversource President of Connecticut Electric Operations Steve Sullivan noted that “energy supply continues to be the largest and most volatile part of a customer’s electric bill.”
Both companies encouraged customers to explore competitive suppliers through the EnergizeCT rate board, where alternate providers may offer lower prices or renewable energy options. They also highlighted assistance programs for households struggling to pay their bills.
UI serves about 341,000 customers in the New Haven and Bridgeport areas. Eversource delivers electricity to 1.3 million customers across 157 cities and towns in Connecticut.
