Electric Rates in CT

The New York Times:

Gov. M. Jodi Rell asked public-utility regulators yesterday to postpone major increases in electric rates, saying that the proposed increases are “simply unsustainable and unaffordable.” The state’s largest utility company, Connecticut Light and Power, has proposed an increase that averages 8.9 percent for residential and commercial customers, beginning Jan. 1. Another company, United Illuminating, has proposed an increase of as much as 48 percent in some residential areas. In a letter to the Department of Public Utility Control, Ms. Rell asked regulators to postpone a decision until the Legislature could review ways to lessen the effect on consumers.