THREAD MB 

Connecticut residents seem to have the reputation of being subdued and wealthy. They also generally vote blue.

 

Huge electric bills, however, are compelling Connecticut residents to break from their over-generalized reputation and start screaming. Some are even pushing for a change in the state's representation come this Fall.  

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Electric bills 'that have literally gone berserk' are a significant part of the reason. The excessive cost of electricity (28.26 cents per kwh) is making Connecticut unaffordable and unfit to live in.  To top it off, there is no relief coming, only the promise of additional increases this September.

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That's jarring for many, especially those who are living on fixed incomes and already struggling with the distressing realities of inflation. Or average families who are coping with a cost-of-living gap that demands 13 percent more income to survive than the national average. 

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Adding further perspective, according to the site RentCafe, "Housing is 23% higher than the national average, while utilities are 31% higher. When it comes to basic necessities such as food and clothing, groceries are around 10% higher than in the rest of the country, while clothing costs 10% higher. Healthcare services such as doctor check-ups and dentistry cost 9% higher in Connecticut compared to the national average. At the same time, non-necessary expenses such as entertainment and grooming services are 10% higher."

 

In other words, it is expensive to live in Connecticut at a baseline so even the most minor increases are challenging to absorb. Whoppers can be impossible. 

 

Truth be told, Connecticut may be home to some of the wealthiest, but it also leads the nation in income disparity, according to the CT Mirror.  ZipRecruiter states that although it "is seeing salaries as high as $5,827 and as low as $872, the majority of Live In salaries currently range between $2,058 (25th percentile) to $5,708 (75th percentile) in Connecticut."

 

Thus, unlike Joseph Nolan, CEO of Eversource, who pulls down approximately $18,885,577 a year (making him the 9th highest paid utility CEO in the United States), the majority of Connecticut residents aren't millionaires. Or Democrat Governor Ned Lamont, who is said to be worth anywhere between $26 million to $332 million and continues to bank $150k salary to boot for his leadership services of the state. 

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Neither of these men have to worry about whether or not they can turn on a light or toast a piece of bread. ​

 

And yet both men sit at the center of a crisis forcing Connecticut residents to dole out hundreds or thousands of additional dollars to cover electricity expenses, astronomical in nature and mismanaged to boot. The excuses are plenty.

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Everything from extreme weather-related issues to grid upgrades to purchase agreements in relation to a particular nuclear power plant to EV-green agenda expansion plans to the repayment of money owed to Eversource for electricity that they provided to customers who couldn't pay their bills during Covid...all of it is now showing up in the electric bills of Connecticut residents in the form of a public benefits utility cost, and the gauging is beyond palatable or payable. 

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This is especially true as residents who did pay their electricity bills during Covid are now forced to pay the bills of those who didn't as part of the public benefits utility cost. Sound absurd?

 

It's just as absurd as Lamont admitting that he should have agreed to allow the repayment process to take place sooner, making it easier on all Connecticut residents to repay other resident's debts. THIS as opposed to placing those who couldn't pay their electricity bills during that particular time period on a payment plan now, while leaving the rest of Connecticut's residents out of it.

 

Equity at its finest.  

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Just look at the electric bill in the photo above. $2k-4k a month would send most people in fits of panic and rage. It is understandable why Connecticut residents are turning cold and forcing 

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The situation is turning Connecticut residents cold, sparking increased migration to other 'more hospitable' states, and igniting concern from Democrats seeking re-election this November.

 

As journalist Dan Haar astutely wrote in CT Insider, "We're back to being a slow-growing, high-cost state struggling to create jobs and attract new residents."   

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Stratospheric electric bills won't help. Who should be?

 

Simply put, the two multi-millionaires ultimately responsible--Nolan and Lamont. Connecticut residents deserve better.

 

They deserve answers, none of which result in passing the buck nor insulting Connecticut residents further by suggesting that they "turn off their lights when they leave the room more vigilantly." No doubt, most are already doing that. 

 

There is a whole other part to be done still, however, and Nolan and Lamont need to step-up and justify their positions and their very large paychecks.

 

They wanted these jobs. Time to start doing them before the lights go out on them too, compliments of many newly enraged Nutmegger's.

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#electricity #electricitycosts #inflation #NedLamont #Eversource #election #Connecticut​​