High energy prices, but improvements in state to help

(July 11, 2008) Although energy prices are high, an improving infrastructure in Connecticut and consumers’ increasing power to control their use are starting to help matters.

That was the consensus of energy experts at a recent CBIA informational forum designed to help businesses understand and respond to rising energy costs. Speakers were state Sen. John Fonfara (D-Hartford), co-chair of the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee; Commissioner Donald Downes, chairman of the state Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) and Chris Kallaher, director of government and regulatory affairs, Direct Energy (the event’s sponsor).

First, the bad news: energy prices are high. And while the state’s goal is to move away from the use of fossil fuels, our dependence on natural gas to power energy plants is still increasing, which will also put upward pressure on costs.

There is an upside, however. Energy consumers in Connecticut are gaining more ability to monitor and control their costs. “What we measure,” said Kallaher, “we can change.” Businesses that have done the most to become energy-efficient, he said, are using 30% less energy than comparable companies that have not taken similar actions.

There are a host of programs to help Connecticut businesses become more aware of their energy use and make it more efficient. Information about many of these programs can be found at http://ctsavesenergy.org, (a site set up by the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund) and www.ctenergyinfo.com (produced by the DPUC and the Institute for Sustainable Energy).

Sen. Fonfara said the state’s Electric Efficiency Partners Program, part of the landmark legislation he co-sponsored and lawmakers adopted in 2007, will help businesses control their energy costs. The program helps companies buy and use new demand-side management technologies to better manage their energy use and avoid the highest-demand, highest-cost times.

That’s important, said Fonfara, because 20% of the cost of electricity in Connecticut is incurred in a very small window of time. Hot summer afternoons, the times of peak demand, are when Connecticut’s electric grid is stretched to the limit and prices are the highest. Knowing how to spread out that energy use can save businesses on their power bills.

Another positive sign, said Downes, is the fact that additional charges energy consumers have been paying because of the state’s poor energy infrastructure are beginning to be reduced. The completion of a new 345 kV power line in southwestern Connecticut has helped, and Phase II of that project — installing a new line from Middletown to Norwalk — will be another power boost and price-reducer.

The region’s power grid manager, ISO New England, recently declared that mainly because of the new lines, “The chronic congestion into the southwest corner of Connecticut has been relieved.”

Looking ahead to what additional steps Connecticut can take to reduce power use and costs, Fonfara said that the state welcomes good ideas. In fact, the General Assembly left the door open for the approval of new technologies to help flatten Connecticut’s energy load demand and, in turn, stabilize or reduce costs.

For more information, contact CBIA’s Kevin Hennessy at 860-244-1979 or kevin.hennessy@cbia.com.