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Last Updated: May 2010
05/10: The Senate and House General Assembly of Connecticut both passed Bill Number 493, which aims to reduce electricity costs and promote renewable energy in Connecticut. The bill contains new directives for Connecticut’s two large utilities, Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating Company, whereby the energy companies would have new flexibility in purchasing power from generating companies. The bill also seeks to consolidate the current Public Utilities Control Authority into a new authority named The Connecticut Energy and Technology Authority.
Source: Connecticut General Assembly
http://www.cga.ct.gov
08/09: The Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control met with electric suppliers and reported that the number of customers in Connecticut who have switched to alternative suppliers for electricity has increased by almost 46 percent since January 2009. As of August 1, 2009, nearly two-hundred thousand, or 13 percent, of Connecticut residential and business customers had chosen an electric supplier.
Source: Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control
http://www.ct.gov/dpuc/
04/09: The Connecticut House of Representatives approved legislation requiring future residential and small business customers to choose between one of the two major power suppliers in Connecticut when they begin electricity service. The legislation still has to pass in the Connecticut Senate to become law.
Source: The Connecticut General Assembly
http://www.cga.ct.gov/
06/08: The Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control finalized the selection of three projects to provide Connecticut with adequate electric peaking generation in accordance with Section 50 of Public Act 07-242. The three facilities are Bridgeport Energy II, GenConn (UI/NRG), and a PSEG facility to be located in New Haven Harbor, CT.
Source: Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control
http://www.ct.gov/dpuc/site/
01/08: Section 50 of Public Act 07-242, passed by the Connecticut General Assembly in 2007, stated that “from January 1, 2008, until February 1, 2008, any person may, and an electric distribution company shall, submit a plan to build peaking generation.” The act goes on to say that “any plan approved by the department shall (1) include a requirement that the owner of the peaking generation is compensated at cost of service plus reasonable rate of return as determined by the department.” This act deviates from current deregulation legislature that is currently enacted in Connected since the approved peaking plants would be paid for by regulated prices according to their costs of service, and not based on what the ISO New England markets provide.
Source: Connecticut General Assembly
http://www.cga.ct.gov/
02/07: Governor M. Jodi Rell said she would introduce policies that were designed to change Connecticut's regulation of energy pricing and push for the creation of a state Department of Energy while reorganizing other state energy-related offices. The energy proposal was expected to be included in Rell's budget message to the Connecticut State Legislature. Rell's proposed new energy department was expected to take 70 jobs from the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control and Office of Policy and Management and would be responsible for developing energy policies and working on the development of alternative and renewable resources.
Source: Associated Press via Courant.com
http://www.courant.com/
06/06: The Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) passed regulations requiring Connecticut utilities to hold multiple auctions for standard offer power supply.
Source: Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control
http://www.state.ct.us/dpuc/
01/06: Connecticut Light and Power submitted comments to the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) stating that the utility was greatly concerned with competition for retail choice throughout the state. The DPUC expressed these concerns in a report to state legislature.
Source: Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control
http://www.state.ct.us/dpuc/
06/05: Public Act 05-01 was enacted and placed a requirement that the Department of Public Utility Control identify measures that could reduce federally mandated congestion charges which exposed Connecticut ratepayers to upward pressure on retail electricity. The Act states that the DPUC would have to establish principles and standards in developing and issuing requests for long-term projects designed to reduce the federally mandated congestion charges and allowed no standing or proposed legislation to block the DPUC from this stated purpose.
Source: Connecticut RFP 2006 and the State of Connecticut
http://www.connecticut2006rfp.com/PDF/RFP_docs/Attachment%201A_RFP%20091206.pdf
http://www.ct.gov/csc/cwp/view.asp?a=960&q=307628
09/02: The Department of Public Utility Control reduced The United Illuminating Company's Standard Offer Service rates by 3 percent, which brought the total rate reduction to 13 percent. Standard Offer Service would end December 2003.
08/02: The Department of Public Utility Control stated in a press release that The Connecticut Energy Cooperative "can no longer serve its 11,000 customers with competitive electric supply." Depending on their location, customers would be transferred to either The Connecticut Light & Power Company (CL&P) or The United Illuminating Company (UI). UI would return their customers directly to Standard Offer service that would end December 2003.
06/02: The Department of Public Utility Control denied a request submitted by Connecticut Light and Power that called for an emergency increase to rates frozen under previously mandated restructuring regulations.
Source: Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control
http://www.state.ct.us/dpuc/
08/00: Northeast Utilities announced that Dominion Resources would pay approximately $1.3 billion for its three-unit Millstone nuclear station. The transaction was expected to be completed by April 2001, pending approval from several federal and state agencies.
09/99: The Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) issued a rule that was aimed at preventing customers from switching back to Standard Offer Service (SOS) after switching to an alternative supplier when SOS was the least expensive alternative. The rule would provide a 12-month switching moratorium once a customer returns to SOS.
09/99: Northeast Utilities (NU) planed to auction its Millstone nuclear plant and its 40-percent share in the Seabrook nuclear plant. The Connecticut restructuring law required the sale of nuclear assets by 2004. NU subsidiary, NU Generation Group, decided not to bid on the plants.
08/99: The DPUC issued a preliminary order for stranded cost recovery of $726 million instead of the requested $916 million to United Illuminating (UI).
06/99: The DPUC stated that it was concerned that no suppliers have applied for licensing to serve the market when it opens. Part of the lack of interest may have been due to the rules for standard offer service and estimated stranded cost recovery which was not yet finalized by the Attorney General and the state General Assembly.
06/99: United Illuminating's plan for unbundling its generation assets was approved by the DPUC. UI planed to place its nuclear assets in a separate division until they were divested through public auction.
04/99: The DPUC ordered generation charges to be shown as a separate charge beginning July 1999. Bills were scheduled to be completely unbundled by January 2000. Suppliers were scheduled to begin licensing as early as July and soliciting of customers would then begin.
03/99: The DPUC began a consumer education effort sponsoring statewide presentations and ordering that, beginning in July, generation charges be shown separately on bills for the purpose of comparison with competitive offers. Retail competition was set to begin January 1, 2000 and suppliers were scheduled to be licensed as early as July to begin soliciting business.
03/99: In February, the DPUC approved the sale of Connecticut Power & Light's non-nuclear assets, and in March it approved United Illuminating's sale of nonnuclear assets.
01/99: The DPUC was considering utilities' divestiture plans which were filed in late 1998, and stranded cost proposals that were filed in January.
10/98: United Illuminating filed its divestiture plan with the DPUC to sell its non-nuclear generating assets. Plants being sold include the 590 MW Bridgeport Harbor and the 466 MW New Haven Harbor. Also in the filing were plans on how to unbundle the generation business from the wires or distribution business. United Illuminating would become a "wires" company responsible for power delivery.
05/98: The United Illuminating Company announced its plan to divest its 3 fossil-fueled plants and power purchase agreements to comply with Connecticut's new restructuring law.
04/98: House Bill 5005, An Act Concerning Electric Restructuring, was signed into law on April 29, 1998. The bill would allow access to competitive suppliers for 35 percent of consumers by January 2000 and for all consumers by July 2000. Utilities would be required to sell non-nuclear generation assets by January 2000 and interests in nuclear generation by January 2004, making Connecticut the first State to require divestiture of nuclear assets. The bill also required participation in an ISO, public interest program funding, functional unbundling, renewable energy funding, a 5.5- percent renewable portfolio standard, environmental protections, and a 10-percent rate reduction beginning January 2000, and a rate cap at the December 31, 1996 level from July 1, 1998 until January 1, 2000.
07/95: The DPUC issued a final report that calls for restructuring the electric power industry and gradually moving to retail competition.