Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy delivers his State of the State address to the House and the Senate at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Gun control, mental health care and school safety are expected to be major topics in the new session. Legislators also must grapple with a projected deficit of about $1.2 billion. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
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Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy delivers his State of the State address to the House and the Senate at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Gun control, mental health care and school safety are expected to be major topics in the new session. Legislators also must grapple with a projected deficit of about $1.2 billion. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
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Newtown First Selectwoman Pat Llodra, center left, and Newtown School Superintendent Dr. Janet Robinson, center right, receive a standing ovation inside the Hall of the House during Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's State of the State address the at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Malloy urged state lawmakers Wednesday to work with him to prevent future tragedies like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, but stressed that “more guns are not the answer.” Legislators also must grapple with a projected deficit of about $1.2 billion. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
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Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, center, at podium, speaks to members of the House and the Senate in his State of the State address at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Malloy urged state lawmakers Wednesday to work with him to prevent future tragedies like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, but stressed that “more guns are not the answer.” Legislators also must grapple with a projected deficit of about $1.2 billion. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
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Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, center, spends time in his office with wife Cathy, left, son, Sam, second from left, son Dannel, second from right, and Chief of Staff, Mark Ojakian at right, before his State of the State address at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Malloy urged state lawmakers Wednesday to work with him to prevent future tragedies like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, but stressed that “more guns are not the answer.” Legislators also must grapple with a projected deficit of about $1.2 billion. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
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Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, salutes as he arrives to speak to the House and the Senate in his State of the State address at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Gun control, mental health care and school safety are expected to be major topics in the new session. Legislators also must grapple with a projected deficit of about $1.2 billion. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
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Newtown School Superintendent Dr. Janet Robinson wears a bracelet reading Hope, Faith, and Love in the school colors of Sandy Hook Elementary school during Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's State of the State address the at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Malloy urged state lawmakers Wednesday to work with him to prevent future tragedies like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, but stressed that “more guns are not the answer.” Legislators also must grapple with a projected deficit of about $1.2 billion. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
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Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives are sworn in at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Gun control, mental health care and school safety are expected to be major topics in the new session. Legislators also must grapple with a projected deficit of about $1.2 billion. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
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Newly sworn in Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey gestures while speaking at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Gun control, mental health care and school safety are expected to be major topics in the new session. Legislators also must grapple with a projected deficit of about $1.2 billion. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
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New Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey shakes hands with Robert Frankel, left, after being sworn in at the at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Gun control, mental health care and school safety are expected to be major topics in the new session. Legislators also must grapple with a projected deficit of about $1.2 billion. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Conn. governor proposes new electricity sale plan
HARTFORD, Conn. (
AP) — In a drive for more revenue, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Wednesday proposed a new arrangement to spur companies to sell cheaper electricity to about 800,000 ratepayers.
The plan, which Malloy said could bring in $80 million, is intended to steer customers into less expensive electricity purchase plans. Details have yet to be drafted.
Connecticut electricity customers can choose their power suppliers. Less than half the state's ratepayers have accepted offers from other companies, which sell electricity touted as more environmentally friendly or less expensive. The rest buy a so-called standard offer, which is the electricity sold by Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating, the state's two largest utilities.
Malloy's plan calls for companies to bid for the right to sell electricity to customers on standard-offer plans. The winning bidders would guarantee that power would be sold at 5 percent reduced rates.
Spokesmen for CL&P and UI said the utilities had not yet studied Malloy's plan and would not comment.
Rep. Lonnie Reed, the House chairwoman of the legislature's Energy and Technology Committee, said it's not yet clear how Connecticut would auction the right to provide the lower standard offer pricing, but Malloy said the auctions could produce $80 million in state revenue.
Malloy's plan says ratepayers would save about $65 a year.
The high cost of electricity has vexed Connecticut governors and legislatures for years. The state deregulated utilities more than a decade ago, but the cost of power soared despite promises of cheaper electricity. Consumers and businesses complained loudly to legislators.
Soon after Malloy took office in January 2011, he and the General Assembly enacted legislation intended to put pressure on electricity prices. The state got into the procurement business, working with utilities to buy power and required a revamped utility regulatory agency — not electric companies — to assess future electric demand and how best to meet it.
The legislation also established an agency to finance zero-emission projects such as solar and wind power.
Malloy also is seeking to spur consumers to switch to natural gas, which is enjoying a boom in production. Prices are relatively low, which is narrowing the gap between standard-offer energy prices and other consumer purchase plans, said Daniel Esty, Connecticut's commissioner of energy.
The governor's latest plan is intended to move more ratepayers into the marketplace, making it more competitive, he said.
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