Analysis reveals substantial benefits for consumers in electric supplier market
HARTFORD, March 1, 2024 – The monthly Electric Supplier market reports published by Connecticut Office of Consumers Counsel (OCC), an independent agency that advocates for utility ratepayers on issues decided by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, showed customers who shopped for their energy supplier and enrolled with a competitive energy supplier instead of their utility saved an aggregate of $107 million in 2023.
According to the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel, “In the month November 2023, residential Eversource customers who chose suppliers saved in aggregate $874,072 more than the Standard Offer for their electric generation, and residential UI customers who chose suppliers saved in aggregate $334,166 more than the Standard Offer.”
Notably, residential customers who chose a retail supplier collectively saved $107,623,927 more than those on the standard offer throughout 2023.
However, the report does not differentiate between customers enrolled in value-add products such as flat monthly bills, long-term contracts, 100% renewable energy plans and programs like free electric vehicle charging which may sometimes show a higher price to account for the value-added savings customers choose. Even with this value-add grouped into the total compared to customers on basic 6-month utility service, retail energy customers are saving significantly in Connecticut thanks to the competitive energy market.
“Retail suppliers serve 22.9% of Eversource Energy (Eversource) residential customers and 16.9% of United Illuminating (UI) residential customers, in November 2023,” as per the OCC’s fact sheet, which is based on data submitted in compliance filings within the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority’s Docket Number 06-10-22.
According to the most recent data from the U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA) as of 2022, a total of 163,576 residential customers in Connecticut actively shopped for their electricity.
| 01/01/23 – 06/30/23 | 07/01/23 – 12/31/23 | 01/01/24 – 06/30/24* | |
| Eversource | 24.17 c/kWh | 13.82 c/kWh | 14.71 c/kWh |
| United Illuminating | 21.94 c/kWh | 14.33 c/kWh | 17.06 c/kWh |
To further empower customers to make informed decisions and capitalize on potential savings the Retail Energy Advancement League (‘REAL’) offers a comprehensive suite of resources:
Fore more information and to access these valuable resources, visit our website, www.retailenergychoice.org
REAL is a national advocacy organization dedicated to the expansion and modernization of American retail energy markets. In many states, utility monopolies still control the electric market and customers can’t choose where they buy their electricity and gas. States with restructured markets enable companies to compete with utilities and they create access for customers to choose from a variety of products available on the electric grid, such as 100% renewable energy, free home charging for electric vehicles, carbon offsets for gas products and fixed-rate products.
Max Lifton
