Winter Season Electricity Supply Rates Continue to Fall as UI Files New Standard Service Rates
2025 winter season standard service supply rate more than 20 percent lower than winter 2024, and nearly 40 percent lower compared to winter 2023
Average UI customer to save nearly $25 per month compared to winter 2024
ORANGE, Conn. — November 18, 2024 — Upon filing its standard service supply rates today, United Illuminating, a subsidiary of Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), announced that supply rates for the 2025 winter season, which runs from January 1 through June 30, will be down more than 20 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Per the filing, UI residential customers who use the standard service rate will pay 13.57 cents per kilowatt-hour in supply charges on their monthly electric bill for the first half of 2025. For the average UI customer, this represents a 9 percent overall bill decrease and $24.46 in monthly savings compared to the same period last year, when electricity supply charges were 17.06 cents per kilowatt-hour. It also represents a 38 percent drop in supply prices compared to winter 2023, when supply prices were 21.94 cents per kilowatt-hour.
“Seeing winter rates drop substantially for standard service customers again this year is welcome news, who have borne the brunt of supply and public policy cost fluctuations for several years now,” said Frank Reynolds, President & CEO of UI. “While we are glad to announce a more than 20 percent drop compared to winter rates last year, the energy supply market, which we do not control or profit from, remains in need of deep reform. The overreliance on natural gas for electricity generation will cause price increases every winter until policymakers take action. In the meantime, UI is 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.”
UI procures energy supply on behalf of Connecticut customers under the oversight of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA); per Connecticut law, the charges represent a complete pass-through cost collected from customers on behalf of energy supplier companies, with no profit or mark-up to UI. Electricity supply rates change twice per year, on January 1 and July 1. Connecticut, along with all New England states except Vermont, deregulated electricity supply in 1998, meaning that UI does not own electricity generation facilities and does not have a role in setting 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, which is overseen by PURA’s Procurement Manager, takes place in four procurements throughout the year to balance swings in the market.
Winter supply rates are customarily higher than summer supply rates, a trend that will hold in the first half of 2025 as supply rates will increase to 13.57 cents per kilowatt-hour from 11.91 cents per kilowatt-hour for residential customers, a 14 percent increase in supply rates that will drive an overall bill increase of approximately 5 percent ($13.69) for the average UI customer. The winter increase is primarily due to constrained fuel supply. The majority 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, which drives up the cost of electricity 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 Connecticut law prohibits alternate suppliers in Connecticut from charging 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), Matching Payment Program, and budget billing, 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.
Media Contact:
Sarah Wall Fliotsos
(757) 407-4255