Utility-related proposals take center stage in State House hearings Thursday

Hearings on a number of proposals related to energy bills took place at the State House Thursday evening.

Ahead of those hearings, a group a protesters stood outside Gov. Dan McKee’s office, shredding Rhode Island Energy bills, demanding rates be lowered immediately and permanently.

They also called on state lawmakers to pass legislation that would protect Rhode Islanders from high energy bills.

Throughout the winter, NBC 10 viewers have been reaching out to the station, sharing concerns about what they say are higher than usual energy bills.

NBC 10 asked the President of Rhode Island Energy, Greg Cornett, what’s behind those price increases.

“The facts are that the reason bills have been so high this winter is completely a reflection of the weather that we’ve been seeing,” Cornett said.

He said this past winter has been the coldest in years.

Cornett said bills will decrease by about 17% once summer supply rates take effect in April.

However, in a table of what an average residential customer’s electric bill would look like if utility regulators approve the current plan, portions of the delivery charge will increase.

According to the proposal posted ahead of a public hearing earlier this month, the state’s Renewable Energy Growth Charge would see the largest percentage increase followed by the Transmission Charge and the Distribution Charge.

“In that delivery component there are those public policy charges which make up about 18% of the typical bill. We have zero control over those,” Cornett said. “Those are things that the state has made choices about obviously to support very positive climate initiatives and those sorts of focus.”

On Thursday, a number of legislative proposals aimed to address the issue.

Those include bills introduced by Rep. Megan Cotter.

One would limit utility company profit margins. Another would create a commission to study public ownership of public utilities.

“We’d like to see more accountability for Rhode Island Energy,” Cotter said.

Other proposals include capping utility rate increases to the Consumer Price Index, creating an income-based payment plan, and a requirement for the PUC to produce a comprehensive study by April 30, 2026. Several more were also set to be discussed.

While Cornett said the Rhode Island Energy supports some of the proposals, there are others he claims would cost ratepayers money.

“There are a couple of bills out there that would look at capping the investments that we can make and capping the amount of return that we have the ability to try to achieve on those investments,” Cornett said. “We believe both of those are terrible ideas for the state.”

Cornett highlighted there are programs available for those who are struggling with energy bills including a recent investment in the Good Neighbor Energy Fund.