Connecticut Commercial Electricity: Beating the Eversource Standard Service
Commercial and industrial businesses in Connecticut consistently face some of the highest electricity costs in the contiguous United States. Entering 2026, the pain is centralized in the Eversource and United Illuminating (UI) service territories. Companies that fail to proactively shop for third-party electricity supply are placed on the utility's "Standard Service" rate, a blended, highly inflated default tariff heavily exposed to the ISO-New England winter natural gas constraints. Furthermore, regardless of who supplies the actual power, all CT businesses must pay the staggering "Public Benefits Charge"—a state-mandated delivery fee that has effectively become a shadow tax supporting state-level political and environmental initiatives.
Executive Impact
- →The ISO-NE Winter Crunch: Over half of New England's electricity is generated by burning natural gas. During deep winter freezes, gas is prioritized for residential heating, causing regional power plants to rely on expensive LNG or fuel oil, dramatically spiking wholesale clearing prices which are ultimately passed to the ratepayer.
- →The Public Benefits Nightmare: The deeply controversial Public Benefits component of the bill has triggered legislative outrage. It forces commercial ratepayers to fund state-negotiated power contracts (like the Millstone nuclear plant) and covers unpaid utility balances from residential pandemic-era moratoriums.
- →Capacity Cost Surges: ISO-New England's Forward Capacity Auctions (FCA) are clearing higher as older fossil-fuel plants retire before adequate offshore wind and transmission infrastructure can be brought online.
Evading the Default Penalty
Accepting the Eversource Standard Service offer is financially detrimental for any C&I customer. Competitive procurement is strictly required.
- Third-Party Retail Execution: The fundamental play is executing a fixed-rate contract with a Tier 1 Retail Electric Provider (REP) well ahead of the heavy winter months. Because the utility default rate is a blended "safe" harbor, competitive suppliers can consistently undercut Standard Service by 1-3 cents per kWh on the generation portion of the bill.
- Capacity Tag Mitigation (ICAP): In ISO-NE, your capacity obligation is determined by your facility's usage during a single peak hour of the entire year (usually a hot afternoon in July or August). Installing real-time interval metering and shedding load during this critical hour can remove tens of thousands of dollars from your supplier invoice for the entirety of the following year.
Behind-The-Meter Defense
Because Connecticut businesses cannot shop or negotiate the massive Public Benefits Charge or the base delivery tariffs, the only defense against those line items is absolute demand destruction. Robust utility-scale commercial solar combined with deep ROI energy efficiency (LED, VFDs) subsidized by the very state programs driving up the overall rates is the primary mitigation strategy for property owners.