June 8, 2011
Connecticut

Renewables to add $102 to Connecticut ratepayer bills

By Brad Kane, Hartford Business Journal, www.hartfordbusiness.com

The cost of implementing Connecticut’s goals for electricity from renewable resources will add up to $102.55 to each residential ratepayers’ annual energy bill, according to a draft report from the agency investigating the impacts of the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standards.

The report from the Connecticut Energy Advisory Board details the impacts and benefits of the state’s goal to have 20 percent of its electricity come from renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass by 2020. The agency is soliciting comments on the RPS report through June 17.

The report says RPS will cost each residential ratepayer an addition 1 to 3.5 percent above the cost of electricity had Connecticut not put the goals in place. By 2020, the costs will be between $25.53 and $102.55 annually for a residential ratepayers whose yearly electricity costs would otherwise be $2,900.

Not included in this cost are the benefits from energy security and improved environmental and public health.

The RPS may not be the best way for Connecticut to accomplish the main goals it sets out under the policy, the report says. Those goals include using electricity from cleaner sources, growing jobs and industry based on clean technology, lowering the state’s environmental impact, and decreasing dependence on foreign fuels.

The report recommends Connecticut clearly define its golas for economic development, the environment, public health and energy security. The state should then study approaches other than the RPS to see if they are better in achieving these goals.

The report also urges Connecticut to constantly review the RPS and how well it achieves its goals. Connecticut needs to launch a detailed and systematic analyses of the RPS impact on policies related to the regional electricity market, transmission expansion projects and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/06/08/renewables-to-add-102-to-ct-ratepayer-bills/