Happy Tuesday! We have 67,580 signatures with 353,391 petition views. For the new signers, welcome aboard! I have many previous updates available if you want to learn more about how we got here.
I have set the date for Thursday, Oct 24th at 11am at the State CapitoI. My request to meet Governor Lamont is still pending. This will be by invitation only. If you want an invite, my email is listed when you click on my name. There will only be a very small select few.
My previous update was deleted because after careful thought, I need to make sure this goes smoothly without any unknown elements in play. All request will be vetted. Thank you for your understanding.
There will be no rally, no fanfare, no signs. Just a representation, on paper, of how many ratepayers of Connecticut are hurt with this unfair craziness called Public Benefits.
Is this the end? No, the petition will not end. The only way to end this petition on change.org is a button that says "declare victory". As long as the Public Benefit charge is on our bill, I am not clicking that button!
Senator Gordon has been instrumental in helping me navigate this whole process and we talked many times. He genuinely cares about this issue. I can't thank him enough for all he does!
People Moving Out of Connecticut!
I have asked Lisa S, whose original post on my town’s fb page and pic in this petition that catapulted this whole endeavor, to accompany me on Oct 24th. She informed me that she is moving to NC. She emailed me stating "I'm so over this state's ridiculous taxing and expenses :-( "
Her move will be a great loss to our community as her volunteer work as an EMT and efforts with her nursing career.
I also asked Renee D who’s actual $3,200 bill ($800 was public benefits) was on my Channel 8 interview. She wrote back to me “I am not sure I am a good person to speak out about what is going on in CT with the electric bill because I am moving out of state in the next 2 months. I am lucky that I can do this and I know a lot of people cannot”
She is a small business owner and so I assume that she will close shop and let go of her employees as well. We have been in contact from the start - over 2 months ago. Another great loss to Connecticut's community
In the news:
PURA Chair Gillett Says No Thanks to Ending Forced Marriage With DEEP. Yankee Institute's Meghan Portfolio writes about the history of PURA and DEEP, A Decade of Failed Promises, the conflict of interest, and how these two agencies continue to go unchecked.
In March 11, 2012 a PURA staff member wrote “PURA must be completely independent from DEEP so that there is no connection between the two agencies,” the staff argued, comparing the setup to “putting a judge in a courtroom under a commissioner who has the ability to direct the judge in their decision-making.”
Meghan writes "Gillett’s willingness to blow off years of warnings and concerns about the tangled web of PURA and DEEP is telling.
Former PURA chairs, staff members and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have all sounded the alarm over the years, pointing to clear conflicts of interest and the detrimental impact on ratepayers."
“Connecticut is unique in the country with this unusual structure,” House wrote in 2021. “No other state requires its utility regulators to report to an agency that is a party before it for the obvious reason that regulators are to render fair and reasonable decisions based on facts and law and not be influenced by a party appearing before them.”
UI ASK FOR RATE INCREASE
Unbelievable that I am actually writing about this insanity now - UI to ask for 9% rate hike on CT electric bills. Channel 3 WFSB - You can read / view it here.
Partially, the issue is that UI and Eversource has CT in a stranglehold! They threaten to close down our Nuclear Power Plant and so much more that we don't know. Everyone needs power. We need to come up with a new playbook that eliminates their control over the state! They are the true Evil Empire!
That’s it for now. One more update before October 24th.
Thanks everyone!
~scott