Eversource, a utility company, has recently advised that residential customers may experience a "rate shock" as they could be looking at an additional $38 per month on their average household bill of 700 kilowatt-hours. This proposed increase would represent around 19 percent of customers' per-kilowatt-hour charges, according to documents submitted by Eversource to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

The company has expressed concerns over the financial impact on customers, attributing the situation in part to the state's initiatives put in place during the COVID pandemic to assist low-income and medically vulnerable customers in managing high energy costs. Eversource emphasized that the burden of overdue customer balances is ultimately shared by all customers.

Steve Sullivan, Eversource's President of Electric Operations in Connecticut, emphasized the importance of providing customers with predictability and stability in their electric bills. In an effort to mitigate potential rate shocks, the company has proposed solutions in a letter sent to various state entities, including Gov. Ned Lamont's Office and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

One of the suggested solutions involves a fundamental change to the ratemaking methodology, allowing for better cost forecasting and integration into rates to prevent similar issues in the future. Eversource stressed the need for collaboration to revisit policies that could lead to constant rate shocks for customers due to the layering of past and future costs in billing structures.

Moving forward, the company is urging regulators to align current costs with customer collections to ensure rates remain stable and reflective of market trends, thus providing relief from potential rate fluctuations now and in the future.