CL & P Users May Get Power Over Power Rates

I beleive this is a step in the right direction. This is a practice that has been adopted in Europe to promote responsible electric usage. There is a lot of energy (fossil fuel) waisted by the power plants at night and the grid takes a beating during the day.

Why does it have to cost us more to save. The idea sounds good, but raising the rates to pay for the meter doesn't. I'm all for saving on wasted energy and money. However until I have the meter on my house, why should I pay for someone else to enjoy the discounts while I pay for their meters. Not to mention who knows how long it would take for everyone to switch over... years. The house that has the new meter should pay a one time fee for THEIR meter, not me or you.

Somehow this will cost the rate payer more money and the only people to benefit will be CL&P.

CL&P worse company of all time. Maybe we should throw them a parade for coming up with this new idea that still costs us money. Why don't they look within their own company to cut back and reduce the waste that goes on day to day and then pass those savings on to us. Like get rid of some of those grossly overpaid do nothings at the top.

Go Solar!

I can see it now....CL&P granted rate increase due to lower revenues because of conservation by the public. It is always a no win situation for the little guys out here.

CL$P should look to how UI can provide different rates since the 1960's!! WITHOUT having to charge their customers $1,000 per new meter installed. I guess they've got to pay for those 6 figure pensions some how, lucky us.

Moody wrote:

Why does it have to cost us more to save. The idea sounds good, but raising the rates to pay for the meter doesn't. I'm all for saving on wasted energy and money. However until I have the meter on my house, why should I pay for someone else to enjoy the discounts while I pay for their meters. Not to mention who knows how long it would take for everyone to switch over... years. The house that has the new meter should pay a one time fee for THEIR meter, not me or you.

Ron wrote:

I can see it now....CL&P granted rate increase due to lower revenues because of conservation by the public. It is always a no win situation for the little guys out here.

That actually HAS happened with respect to water use, and various states are putting new toll booths on highways because gasoline tax revenues are down.
God forbid governments should do with less when revenues go down.

I'm a CL&P customer, and I already subscribe to residential "Peak Rate" time-of-day pricing (Rate 7). It's available today, it's OPTIONAL, and it cost me nothing to switch. <shrug>

IIRC,(exact rate data available from CL-P.com ) I pay ~$14c/kWh (gen rate only) noon-8PM M-F, and ~11c/kwh all other times, versus ~12c/kWh on the flat rate plan. This is perfect for our household, as we have no children and both I and my wife work regular jobs...roughly speaking, if you use more than 50% of your electricity off-peak (nights and weekends; we do) you'll save money.

I find it disingenuous that our state Attorney General is clamoring for the cameras to scream about stopping an OPTIONAL program...if "senior citizens" are worried about using power during the day, then they can stay with the standard flat rate!

Hey, just sayin'...

unreal wrote:

CL$P should look to how UI can provide different rates since the 1960's!! WITHOUT having to charge their customers $1,000 per new meter installed. I guess they've got to pay for those 6 figure pensions some how, lucky us.
<quoted text>

my thoughts exactly.

what kind of neanderthal company comes up with a new idea a half century after everyone else?

and how can these meters cost 1,000 bucks each? people out there versed in these matters probably could construct something like this for 100 bucks. who is making the money on these meters?

and why all the concern about fairness here when u.i. has been doing it for their customers all this time?

how could this be bad for anyone?

CLP is a drug dealer making you pay big money for something you need!

Personally the state needs to look at other forms of electricity (solar,windmills).......In CT we are being rob by everything, gas,electricity,taxes,food prices......

Why didn't the journalist research what the potential savings are? These energy articles lately are beginning to irritate me. They don't tell you what the real cost are, and what the saving are, if there is any at all! Companies aren't in business to lose money.

Examples: They tell you to buy a hybrid and save on gas. Reality: if you buy a Honda Fit, a Toyota Yaris or a Scion xD, you will save more money over ten years. They get less gas mileage, but they also cost thousands of dollars less than the current market for hybrids. The money you save on the sticker price, plus the money you save on paying a lower amount of interest over the length of the car loan saves you MORE than you would save at the pump over ten years.

I would have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on my 112 year old house to update it to save MAYBE $50 a month on my utility bills. Where is the financial sense in that?

Yeah, yeah... be green... hug a tree. Sorry, I'm in my thirties now and have reality to deal with. I can't afford to be green. Don't get me wrong, I will support any company that is competitive in the market, but I can't afford to spend a dollar to save a nickel.

I am surprised that no writer has raised the issue of the State Legislators seriously addressing the problem of outrageously high utility bills. At least these individuals who are elected and paid to represent the rest of us could finally realize that deregulating electicity did not bring competition, and did not make NU or others spend their excessive profits on a new grid or grids and improved equipment, and did not bring consumers lower rates. The legislator who insists that deregulation was a good idea, has not encountered the pain it has caused many households and small businesses that barely get by. Immediate action should be taken to regulate this industry, but of course our legislators are simply too lazy or under the influence of lobbyists on this issue and other issues that affect the quality of life of all Ct. citizens...It would be great if newspapers would keep the public really informed of the accomplishments or lack thereof of their duly elected state representatives and senators....and then we could vote intelligently. NU and CL&P are greedy. Their job is to make money for their stockholders, and they have no reason to operate differently in this state.

Just had to add: it's like the folks who have purchased wood stoves or pellets stove to save on oil use, asking everyone else to pay for the stove..

How can any reasonably bright rational person think this is headed in a positive direction??? See it for what it is - an underhanded manipulative way for CL&P to raise it's rates and make more money under the guise of saving energy.

Greg in Middletown wrote:

I'm a CL&P customer, and I already subscribe to residential "Peak Rate" time-of-day pricing (Rate 7). It's available today, it's OPTIONAL, and it cost me nothing to switch. <shrug>
IIRC,(exact rate data available from CL-P.com ) I pay ~$14c/kWh (gen rate only) noon-8PM M-F, and ~11c/kwh all other times, versus ~12c/kWh on the flat rate plan. This is perfect for our household, as we have no children and both I and my wife work regular jobs...roughly speaking, if you use more than 50% of your electricity off-peak (nights and weekends; we do) you'll save money.
I find it disingenuous that our state Attorney General is clamoring for the cameras to scream about stopping an OPTIONAL program...if "senior citizens" are worried about using power during the day, then they can stay with the standard flat rate!
Hey, just sayin'...

yes well said.... whats disingenuous mean?

This is just another way for CL&P to rape customers, with immunity. Every time these morons’s make a mistake or mismanage the company it is the consumer who pays the price. Meanwhile, compensation for the big dogs just keeps going up and up!

Here is what I heard but can not verify with certainty. This monitoring is just a big shell game and in most cases the consumer will never find the peanut because the Peak hours will not be fixed. CL&P will utilize rolling peak hours vs fixed hours. The monitoring units will report usage on an hour to hour basis at each location and send the information back to CL&P.

A computer program will tally usage for all customers during a 24 hour period and those hours with the greatest consumption will become the peak hours for that day. This means this Monday morning between 6:00am and 8:00am could be the peak hours and next Monday between 7:00am and 9:00 am could be the peak hours. Peak hours will change day to day, week to week and month to month. The customer will always be guessing where the peak hours will be.

Onward HO! Get the new time of day usage meters to work faster. I for one, asked for one, years ago. Right now there is no incentive to use more electricity in the evening hours (off peak demand). This could reduce the peak Electricity Demand during the day and cut costs.

unreal wrote:

CL$P should look to how UI can provide different rates since the 1960's!! WITHOUT having to charge their customers $1,000 per new meter installed. I guess they've got to pay for those 6 figure pensions some how, lucky us.
<quoted text>

lol and UI has HIGHER rates than CL&P.