State-Mandated Public Benefits Charge to Increase by $30.1 Million in 2025 for UI Customers
Detailed in today’s Rate Adjustment Mechanism (RAM) filing, low-income assistance programs increase by approximately $18.1 million, and other state-mandated programs, including the Millstone and Seabrook nuclear power plant contracts, increase by approximately $12 million
ORANGE, Conn. — February 18, 2025 — Today, United Illuminating (UI), a subsidiary of Avangrid, Inc., filed its preliminary 2025 Rate Adjustment Mechanism (RAM) with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). In the filing, UI calculates that beginning in May 2025, customers will see a 0.10 percent overall bill increase, equating to approximately $0.26/month for the average residential customer using 700 kilowatt-hours per month, primarily due to the Public Benefits Charge. This charge is made up of charges that have been imposed by the legislature or regulators and represent a pass-through cost for UI that the company does not profit from. The increase belies claims from some state legislators that the 2024 increase would end by May 2025.
"It’s important for our customers to know that, as a distribution-only company, we do not control or profit from the Public Benefits Charge, which funds sustainability and hardship programs that have been passed by state policymakers,” said Frank Reynolds, President and CEO of UI. “We are required by state law to implement the programs contained in the Public Benefits Charge. If customers have questions about these charges, we encourage them to contact their elected officials.”
The increase in the Public Benefits Charge is primarily driven by an $18.1 million increase in the System Benefit Charge (SBC), which pays for energy assistance costs, energy efficiency programs, and other state-mandated programs. The most significant driver of the SBC increase is arrearage forgiveness programs, including uncollectible billing, bill forgiveness, and the Low-Income Discount Rate, which had its first full year of implementation in 2024.
A secondary driver of the increase is an $12 million increase in the Non-Bypassable Federally Mandated Congestion Charges (NBFMCC), which pays for a variety of programs including contracts with zero-emission energy facilities such as the Millstone and Seabrook nuclear power plant contracts.
The final components of today’s RAM filing are a $43,000 increase to the cost of transmission for UI customers and an adjustment to the Revenue Decoupling Mechanism.
The Public Benefits Charge portion of residential electric bill pays for programs that state legislators, regulators, and other state policymakers have passed and implemented and that are required to be paid for on electric bills. UI does not control or profit from these charges.
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Sarah Wall Fliotsos
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