Connecticut Asks FERC to End Eversource RTO Adder
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- Connecticut Attorney General and state agencies asked FERC on Thursday to eliminate a 0.5% return on equity adder that Eversource and Avangrid utilities receive for participating in ISO New England
- A 2025 Connecticut law requires CL&P and United Illuminating to join ISO-NE, making them ineligible for the adder, which applies only to voluntary RTO participation
- The RTO adder increased CL&P and IU rates by $17 million across New England in 2024, with Connecticut ratepayers paying nearly $4.5 million of the total
- A federal appeals court ordered FERC in January 2025 to strip Ohio utilities of the same ROE adder, with expected savings of $220 million for AEP customers, $126 million for FirstEnergy, and $99 million for Duke through 2031
- Eversource spokesperson Sarah Paduano said removing the adder will save the average residential customer about 9 cents a month, calling transmission investments a driver of 'billions of dollars in savings' from reduced congestion
- Gov. Ned Lamont argued utilities with record profits should not receive bonus profits for doing something required by law, and the agencies asked FERC to order refunds from the date of the complaint
- Connecticut had the seventh-highest electric rates in the U.S. as of January, with transmission charges comprising about 15% of a typical residential customer's monthly bill
Why it matters: Connecticut ratepayers paid nearly $4.5 million of the $17 million in RTO adder costs across New England in 2024, and the state ranks seventh nationally for electric rates with transmission making up 15% of residential bills. A favorable FERC ruling could trigger refunds and align Connecticut with Ohio, where a January 2025 appeals court forced similar adder removal.
