State action needed now to avert a Connecticut energy crisis

Soaring electricity costs will hurt businesses, residents; slow state economy.

There is plenty the state can do about soaring power prices besides lawmakers throwing up their hands and blaming high costs on Middle Eastern energy sultans.

United Illuminating wants to charge homeowners 38 percent more, businesses an astonishing 50 percent to nearly 80 percent for the largest consumers of electricity. Homeowners served by CL&P saw their bills go up 22.4 percent in January. CL&P wants another 8.3 percent rate increase for next year.

These jumps reflect the cost of electricity the utilities buy on the open market. At the end of the year, the cap on their regulated transmission rates, which were supposed to dampen price increases, expire. The cost of electricity will go even higher once the caps are off.

The increases sought by the utilities pose not only a hardship for many families, but are a crushing blow to businesses that will have to cut costs, freeze employment or lay off workers to absorb the added costs while keeping the prices of their products competitive.

New Haven Register