Gov. Ned Lamont’s campaign attacked Republican challenger Ryan Fazio over renewable energy, saying Fazio’s plan would harm ratepayers.
Lamont was not present for the press conference, but running mate Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and others said Fazio’s promise to end the public benefits charge would also cut money for needed investments.
“We don’t have to choose between lower costs and cleaner energy,” she said.
Lamont and Sen. Fazio (R-Greenwich) have both vowed to make electricity more affordable. Fazio called the press conference an attempt to distract from Lamont’s two terms in office on Monday.
“If they had done a good job, then they could be bragging about their accomplishments,” Fazio said.
His energy policy has centered around his pledge to eliminate what he calls hidden taxes and fees on electricity bills, including the public benefits charge.
Fazio said some programs can be funded through the budget, but he wants to end many of the subsidies for renewable energy upgrades.
He’s also been critical of state contracts to purchase renewable energy that are significantly higher than the market rate for more traditional sources of electricity.
“Most states don’t have these excessive fees and taxes in their electric bills,” Fazio said. “That’s why most states have, in part, lower electric rates.”
Fazio has also said he wants to force utility companies to appear before the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority more often for rate review cases.
Lamont has proposed requiring utility companies to get franchise licenses that expire every 15 years.
With him absent for Tuesday’s presser, though, Bysiewicz declined to talk about the campaign’s energy platform.
“What we’re talking about here is our commitment to energy efficiency, something that Senator Fazio has not supported,” she said.
Bysiewicz was joined by supporters who said the public benefits charge has funded improvements to make Connecticut’s electric grid more reliable.
Rep. Jamie Foster (D-Ellington) also said the charge covers subsidies that have helped cut down on their electricity bills with energy efficiency upgrades or changes to solar.
“Yeah, there’s a couple of things you can say, ‘oh, we’ll just do this,’ but then there’s unintended consequences,” Foster said.
