EverSource

Submitted by t3_ybpdlk in Connecticut

Is ever source allowed to rip us off because there are no other monopoly’s around ?

Only state I know that majority of people have to depend on this ONE company.

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t1_ithtzro wrote

The electric company is going to inherently be a monopoly. It doesn’t make economic sense to build two or more grids for separate companies. It’s like this in every state. That part will not change.

Now having said that, there are better ways to make a monopoly work. One is an electric co-op like they have in many rural areas. They don’t make a profit and their customers are actually members that collectively own the company. They’re accountable to these members, not Wall Street.

I see a lot of people advocating for municipal systems like in Groton, Norwich, and South Norwalk. I kind of disagree with this one as I think it’d be too fragmented to really work. I’m a fan of the co-op model. Bottom line get these companies owned by Wall Street out of essential services!

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t1_itj6bs3 wrote

With the way the distribution grid is built in CT (redundancy provided by connecting circuits and substations together) and how densely populated the state is, it'd be impossible and impractical to divide it up at the municipal/county/regional level.

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t1_itkitr0 wrote

Correct. A statewide co-op would be a better answer. Or leave things the way they are and give the PUC some actual teeth to enforce things.

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t1_iti4pz8 wrote

Imagine how it’s going to be when our cars and all our stoves and all our furnaces run on electricity.

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t1_itinsw2 wrote

I feel like widespread solar adoption also needs to come with the push towards electric cars and heat pumps.

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t1_itiupa8 wrote

The problem with solar is that even if you and every other customer were to produce 99%of the electricity you use you would still need to be connected to the grid and that connection would just be more expensive because the grid costs money to maintain.

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t1_itknxw3 wrote

That and the delivery is a big percentage of the bill. I am having solar installed still worth it but there is no way to het off Eversources teat

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t1_itix5jh wrote

I heard someone say to never forget that electric cars are here to save the auto industry, not the environment.

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t1_itihhgm wrote

They are allowed to rip us off because they have bought and paid for our politicians and PURA. They hand out jobs to their family members and to those retiring from office as payback. They have been doing this for years and it has paid off. They get generous rate increases and they coordinate occasional high requests allowing the state to act all upset and deny it or agree to the lower one which was the plan all along.

This is not likely to change.

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t1_itv577s wrote

It’s not that simple. PURA needs additional powers to make a real difference. They are bound by the limits of their authority, which is not as much as it appears from the outside. The state legislature needs to directly address this issue. The power companies know this and they spend money making sure there is not a majority in the state senate supporting utility reform.

It’s frustrating but the issue is more complex and that’s partly why it hasn’t been solved yet.

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t1_itizteq wrote

I hate eversource as much as the next person, but I’ve never lived anywhere (5 states) where you could choose and utility provider.

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t1_ithui6s wrote

You can use a diifferent company for generation, so yes , there are options. Eversource simply buys generation as a pass through cost to the rate payer. They don't generate their own power.

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t1_ithy7vp wrote

>Eversource simply buys generation as a pass through cost to the rate payer. They don't generate their own power.

And that's why they should change their name to Neversource. It should be considered false advertising.

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t1_ithzwhs wrote

It's a state law. They made Eversource sell their power plants. it was part of Republican led utility de- regulation in late 90s. It never worked.

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t1_itnqp1e wrote

Theyre actually the cheapest provider right now

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