UI Files Lower Winter Season Electricity Supply Rates

2024 winter season Standard Service supply rate nearly 20 percent lower as compared to winter 2023



ORANGE, Conn. — November 17, 2023 — United Illuminating, a subsidiary of Avangrid (NYSE: AGR), today filed its standard service supply rate with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) for the 2024 winter season. Per the filing, UI customers will pay 17.06 cents per kilowatt-hour in supply charges on their monthly electric bill from January 1 through June 30, 2024. This represents a nearly 20 percent decrease and $34 in monthly savings as compared to the same period last year for the average customer, when electricity supply charges were 21.94 cents per kilowatt-hour. Per Connecticut law, UI is mandated to procure energy supply on behalf of its customers under the oversight of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority’s statutorily appointed Procurement Manager and pass through those costs to customers at no profit or markup.

“I am pleased that our customers will not face such a drastic and unprecedented price spike as what we experienced in the winter of 2023,” said Frank Reynolds, President & CEO of UI. “While this is welcome news, we continue to recognize that the electricity supply market is in desperate need of reform. The overreliance on natural gas for electricity generation will cause price increases every winter until policymakers take action. In the meantime, UI is always here to help our customers, especially those facing financial hardship, and I encourage customers who are struggling to pay their electricity bill to take advantage of assistance programs and to explore their energy supply options at www.EnergizeCT.com.”

Electricity supply rates change twice per year, on January 1 and July 1. Because Connecticut, along with all the New England states except Vermont, deregulated electricity supply in 1998, UI does not own electricity generation facilities and does not have a role in its price. To determine the price of its standard service offering, UI purchases, or procures, electricity at the market rate from generating companies and passes it on to customers with no mark-up or profit. This procurement process is actively overseen by PURA and takes place in six tranches throughout the year to balance swings in the market.

Winter supply rates are customarily higher than summer supply rates, a trend that holds this year as rates will increase slightly on January 1 from a current rate of 14.33 cents per kilowatt-hour. The winter increase is primarily due to constrained fuel supply. Much of New England’s electricity generation is currently fueled by natural gas and supplemented by fuel oil during the coldest periods, and many customers across the region also utilize natural gas for residential and commercial heating. The high demand requires supplemental fuel supplies of imported Liquefied Natural Gas and fuel oil in the colder months, all of which drives up the cost of electric generation.

While approximately 80 percent of UI customers utilize the standard service offering for energy supply, UI encourages customers to utilize the EnergizeCT rate board to explore offerings from alternate energy suppliers. Alternate suppliers may offer lower rates than UI’s standard service offering, and they also provide customers with other customizable choices; for example, customers can choose an energy supplier that only generates electricity using renewable sources such as solar or wind power. Because alternate suppliers in Connecticut are not allowed to charge termination fees, customers may switch suppliers as often as they like, though it may take up to two billing cycles for changes to take effect. Customers may visit the EnergizeCT Rate Board at https://energizect.com/rate-board/choosing-a-supplier.

UI also encourages customers who are struggling to pay their electricity bills to explore assistance and bill management programs. More information on assistance programs, including the low-income discount rate (LIDR), bill forgiveness program, and matching payment program, is available at www.uinet.com/HelpWithBill. All customers, regardless of their income, are also encouraged to maximize the efficiency of their homes and businesses with an audit through EnergizeCT. Customers can visit https://energizect.com/explore-solutions/energy-evaluations for more information and to sign up.

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