The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) issued interim decisions this morning in Dockets 26-01-03 and 26-01-04, approving rate decreases for Eversource Energy and United Illuminating customers effective May 1, 2026. For Eversource residential customers, the reduction amounts to 4.3 cents per kilowatt-hour, or roughly $30 per month on an average bill. United Illuminating residential customers will see rates fall by 4.9 cents per kilowatt-hour, or approximately $34 per month.
The rate adjustments cover six RAM components including the Systems Benefit Charge, Transmission Adjustment Clause, and Competitive Transition Assessment, and will remain in effect through at least September, at which point PURA will conduct a detailed prudence review and may adjust rates further starting September 1.
How Connecticut Nuclear Energy Contracts With Millstone and Seabrook Drove the Rate Reduction
The central driver of the reduction is a decline in the public benefits charge, which will now appear as a credit on ratepayer bills rather than an additional charge. That shift is directly tied to the performance of fixed-price contracts Connecticut negotiated with the Millstone and Seabrook nuclear power plants. Those contracts, secured in 2019, lock in energy prices and insulate the state from fossil fuel price volatility. With natural gas prices elevated this winter following severe weather and ongoing geopolitical instability, the contracts have generated significant savings: more than $250 million for Connecticut ratepayers in 2025 and more than $200 million so far in 2026, according to the Governor's office.
DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes noted at a press briefing this morning that Connecticut's approach to nuclear power demonstrates how long-term fixed-price energy commitments can insulate ratepayers from the kind of price spikes that accompany geopolitical events and extreme weather. "The governor's decision to maintain a diversified portfolio of energy sources is paying off," Dykes said.
How Connecticut Public Act 25-173 Contributed to Lower Public Benefits Charges
Legislation signed into law last year, Public Act 25-173 (Senate Bill 4), contributed additional reductions. The act authorized $155 million in bonding to cover pandemic-era hardship and arrearage costs for both utilities, removing those elevated pandemic-period expenses from the public benefits charge. An additional $145 million in bonding is authorized for 2026-2027. Separately, reforms to Connecticut's Renewable Portfolio Standard included in the legislation are expected to reduce supply charges by approximately $50 to $60 million per year beginning this year.
PURA's decision also reserved $100 million that could otherwise have further deepened the current credit, applying it instead as a down payment toward storm-related cost recovery proceedings involving Eversource. Those proceedings remain active, with the $100 million set aside to offset whatever storm costs PURA ultimately deems prudent.
What the Connecticut Rate Decision Means for Commercial and Industrial Energy Customers
The decision addresses residential rates specifically, but the dynamics at work — fixed-price nuclear contracts outperforming volatile spot markets, legislative bonding to spread one-time cost spikes over time, and tightened oversight of utility transmission investment — are relevant to commercial and industrial customers as well. Connecticut's RPS reforms are generating supply-side savings that affect all customer classes, and the transmission oversight provisions in Public Act 25-173 are expected to deliver approximately $5 million in savings this year, with other regional states reportedly adopting similar approaches.
The Revolution Wind offshore project, now operational, is expected to add further rate stability. Governor Lamont noted that had offshore wind been fully operational during the severe cold of January and February, it would have meaningfully stabilized prices during the period when supply costs were running at multiples of the contracted nuclear rate.
PURA will conduct its next detailed review this summer, with any further adjustments taking effect September 1.
