Notes from the Old Noank Jail

To: George Gombassy, Connecticut Watchdog, 04/24/11

I read with interest your comments today in the Sunday Business section of the New London DAY newspaper concerning people having difficulty resolving customer service issues with the large utility companies. You mentioned Connecticut Light and Power (CL&P) as being one of the companies that does not appear to be very responsive.

I am a CL&P residential customer living in Noank, CT which is part of the Town of Groton, CT and apparently I have no choice but to utilize CL&P services as my provider. Yet a nearby friend living in the Mumford Cove section of Groton is able to utilize the services of Groton Utilities, which is owned by the municipality of Groton City.

On December 31st, 2010, I received my CL & P Electric Bill in the amount of $249.18 for 1415 kilowatt hours from November 24 through December 29. There was also a notice enclosed which read: “ATTENTION – PUBLIC ACT 10-179 requires CL &P to collect additional charges to fund a state budget deficit for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.” Then the notice went on to say that this would start with January billing and initially be referred to as an “Economic Transition Charge.”

I contacted CL &P customer service and was told I would probably be paying over $5.00 monthly additional for this extra charge. The CL&P representative mentioned that it related to an act making adjustments to State Expenditures requiring the Department of Public Utility Control to establish a charge on electric bills to recover certain revenue bond costs.The monies collected from this charge would then be transferred to Connecticut’s General Fund. In addition, apparently this monthly charge will be changed on July 1st, 2011 and referred to as an “ERRB” (“Economic Revenue Recovery Bond”) which is expected to remain in effect for as long as eight years.

I contacted my friend living in Mumford Cove. There is absolutely no such charge being placed on his electric bill by Groton Utilities. There is no mention of this being done in the future.

Therefore, we have the following problems:

a) Either CL&P is charging me for something extra to which it is not entitled, or…

b) The State of CT is imposing an extra charge on my CL&P bill, without my permission, to collect extra money from me in order to help bail out the State debt, in which case…

c) Why is my friend in Mumford Cove not being charged a similar amount on his Groton Utility bill, and therefore…

d) Why is this unequal tax/fee/surcharge being leveled on some CT taxpayers and not others?…and…

e) Why does CL&P do this, but GU does not?…and…

f) If in fact that you find that the CT legislature itself has created this unfair, unbalanced situation, never directly authorized or voted upon by the taxpayers, then who are the irresponsible politicians and lawmakers that have allowed this “theft” to become reality?

In conclusion, I would greatly appreciate it if you can look into this and write about it in your column. I feel that “exposure” of an issue is frequently the best way to resolve it.