Earlier this month, I stood with a sign reading “Energy from renewables, not Enbridge gas” outside the Eversource Headquarters in Hartford. Others gathered with me, as we called on Eversource for clean and affordable energy. This protest follows months of back and forth between Connecticut’s utilities, elected officials, and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.
Just a month earlier, Gov. Ned Lamont said matter-of-factly during his State of the State address “Before you rule out natural gas, due primarily to methane emissions, that’s where most of our power comes from and will for the foreseeable future.”
While the governor framed this as a matter of necessity – keeping costs low and the grid reliable – Connecticut’s overreliance on “natural” gas does the opposite, making our grid more expensive and less reliable, while contributing to climate change and poor air quality.
Connecticut residents face electricity rates 91% higher than the national average. In the decade between 2014 and 2024, Eversource’s electricity rates almost doubled, from $0.16 to $0.28 dollars per kilowatt hour. United Illuminating’s rate increased from $0.19 to $0.33 dollars per kilowatt hour. Even adjusted for inflation, that’s an over 30 percent increase in average electricity rates for both utilities. In 2025, rates increased again and are now at $0.31 (Eversource) and $0.35 (United Illuminating) dollars per kilowatt hour.
This increase is significant for Connecticut families and residents, especially low income residents for whom electricity makes up a more significant portion of their monthly bills. As ratepayers contend with rising bills, reporting has shown “record profits” for Eversource. This also comes after State Sen. President Pro-Tem Martin Looney has said publicly that Eversource sent “threatening letters to the chair of the Energy and Technology Committee” in what looked like an “attempt to silence and intimidate a legislator and a key committee chairman” who expressed concerns over electricity prices.
However, Governor Lamont was correct on one thing, most of Connecticut electricity does come from methane-emitting “natural” gas — roughly 60 percent. Similarly, most of Connecticut’s home heating comes from fossil fuels, 41 percent use heating oil or other petroleum products and 37 percent use “natural” gas.
Natural gas is primarily composed of methane, so when burned or leaked it produces large amounts of methane emissions. Over a 20-year time period, methane is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at heating the Earth. Natural gas also has dangerous health effects, emitting chemicals that contribute to ozone pollution and lung diseases, among other impacts.
To make matters worse, Connecticut ratepayers have been subsidizing our utilities for the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure. This includes two programs, ending in 2022 and 2024, which used ratepayer money to subsidize the expansion of “natural” gas for home and water heating. Residents also pay for gas leakage, or what the Connecticut General Assembly calls “lost and unaccounted for gas.” Companies are allowed to roll the price of the gas leakage into the cost of gas for customers. This incentivizes pipeline leaks rather than repairs, with ratepayers paying the cost both financially and with their health.
It is time for this system to change. The good news is that there are clear alternatives that our state and utilities can invest in, speeding the transition to renewable energy, lowering electricity bills, increasing grid reliability, and protecting the climate and public health.
A more diversified and localized grid is a more reliable and less expensive grid. The “natural” gas Connecticut uses is piped in from out of state and electricity transmission lines run long distances from large energy sources. Expanding smaller scale community-based energy generation would provide localized electricity sources that don’t have to be transmitted long distances, lowering costs. This could include small scale solar, for example on school roofs and over parking lots, as well as community owned solar farms. However, the state has blocked local solar projects by placing caps on how much solar is allowed. While they have been loosened, some caps remain in place.
It also means investing in larger scale clean energy projects. A 2024 Sierra Club analysis found that offshore wind in New England would significantly reduce electricity costs, lead to a grid with less extreme price fluctuations, and provide significant public health benefits. It was announced last year that Connecticut isn’t moving forward with offshore wind.
We also need regulation of our utility companies by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority that centers ratepayers. For too long the utilities have been granted repeated approval of their rate increases. Under the leadership of Marissa Gillett, PURA has more closely regulated the utilities and looked out for Connecticut residents. This must continue.
Connecticut residents should not be burdened with high and polluting energy prices and sources. It’s time for change and there’s a clear way forward. It’s time for Connecticut residents to stop subsidizing fossil fuels and for the state and utilities to start investing in clean energy. Fossil fuels, “natural” gas, are an energy of the past and should be left there.
Sena Wazer is a Connecticut Intern with the Sierra Club Stop Project Maple campaign and a Master’s student at Yale School of the Environment.