More than a decade ago, the Connecticut legislature passed electricity deregulation. It was all the rage back then. The idea was, of course, to enable competition and let people save money by picking the lowest-cost generator. (Transmission and distribution would still be handled by the incumbent utilities - CL&P and United Illuminating.)
Problem was - there was no competition for about nine years.
Now, finally, there are a number of generation companies competing for my business. The best offers are two cents per kilowatt hour cheaper than what CL&P charges. That may not sound like much, except when you do the math. For us, during the winter, that can translate into a savings of $70/month or more. (We have an electric heat pump.)
So, back in February, I finally got around to signing up with a new supplier to take advantage of these long-promised savings.
It is now June and nothing has happened. Sure, I got a confirmation letter from my new supplier (Dominion Resources) welcoming me as a new customer. But, I received my latest bill and I am still paying CL&P its old rate.
I tried to get someone on the phone from the State of Connecticut, but no one answers. I tried to fill out a form on the Connecticut DPUC web site, but after you fill it out and hit "submit" it says "Page Not Found".
But, there is good news. That same bunch of lame-brains who brought us deregulation is now talking about taking it away.
Yep - now that we finally (allegedly) have choice, they have decided "never mind". They say deregulation didn't work and this NEW plan will "save us money". Famous last words.
But fear not. Our elected leaders are on the ball. They did manage to pass reindeer legislation this year, so, we have THAT going for us.
Comments