New PURA discount program costs ratepayers $137 million

New PURA discount program costs ratepayers $137 million

Connecticut ratepayers will be covering roughly $137 million in automatic discounts given to low-income residents under a data-sharing agreement between the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the utility companies, part of a program initiated by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) that cost far more than estimated and forced the regulator to scale back the program until a more permanent solution can be found. The costs of the L…