Governor Lamont Announces Lower Electricity Rates Starting May 1, 2026 Governor Ned Lamont announced on April 22, 2026, that the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) has approved an interim decision to lower residential electricity rates across the state beginning May 1, 2026. The change will reduce bills for the average Eversource residential customer by about $30 per month and for the average United Illuminating residential customer by about $34 per month. This reduction is driven by a decrease in the public benefits charge, which will shift from a cost to a credit on ratepayers’ bills through at least September 2026. The adjustment amounts to 4.3 cents per kilowatt-hour for Eversource customers and 4.9 cents per kilowatt-hour for United Illuminating customers. The administration attributes the savings in large part to fixed-price energy contracts negotiated with the Millstone and Seabrook nuclear power plants. These contracts have insulated ratepayers from volatile fossil fuel pricing. According to the governor’s office, Connecticut’s nuclear contracts saved ratepayers more than $250 million in 2025 and more than $200 million in 2026 through the date of the announcement. The Revolution Wind power purchase agreement is expected to save customers a further $100 million per year once fully operational. Public Act 25-173, approved by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Lamont in 2025, has similarly contributed to reducing the public benefits charge. The announcement follows PURA’s ongoing efforts to ensure just and reasonable rates for utility consumers. As of October 2025, Governor Lamont had nominated four individuals to serve as commissioners on the five-member PURA board: Janice Beecher of Fresh Britain, Holly Cheeseman of Niantic, Everett Smith of Greenwich, and Thomas Wiehl of Madison, with Wiehl designated to serve as chairperson. Each commissioner serves a four-year term, and state law requires the governor to select one commissioner to serve as chairperson. At the time of the October 2025 nominations, two commissioners were already serving: David Arconti, Jr., in his first term and serving as vice chairperson, and Michael Caron, whose term had expired and who planned to retire later that year. Caron had been a PURA commissioner since 2012.
8