Electric costs have risen throughout the country due to several factors, including rising natural gas prices. Additional causes have been; higher than usual winter demand for electricity and a global supply shortage of natural gas and oil, worsened by the current geo-political climate abroad. Bozrah Light and Power (BL&P) is proud that we have been able to absorb and mitigate these higher than normal energy costs through this past winter and, in turn, help to protect some of the most vulnerable residents through the heating season.
Bozrah Light and Power is very sensitive to any pricing adjustments but unfortunately, these sustained high energy costs will cause Bozrah Light and Power to pass some of these additional costs through to our customers.
Beginning June 1st, customers will see an increase in the Purchased Power Adjustment (PPA) portion of their electric bill of $0.00750/kWh.
This will impact all customer classifications from residential, to commercial and industrial. All customers should prepare for higher-than-normal bills this spring and summer. An average residential customer using 700 kWh of electricity per month could see an additional 4% on their bill, or approximately $5.25.
Much of the wholesale electric market is driven by the natural gas market for Bozrah Light and Power. Approximately 50% of BL&P’s power is created from natural gas sources. With the price of natural gas having increased more than 300% in January alone, the turbulent electric supply market has led to higher utility bills for customers of all utilities. BL&P has precautions in place to stabilize electrical rates through the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative (CMEEC) stabilization fund, which is why you have not previously seen an adjustment as have many other utility customers. In fact BL&P absorbed nearly half a million dollars in additional power supply costs over this past winter through this BL&P and CMEEC rate stabilization fund. Unfortunately, we have reached a point where we can no longer absorb the increase in market costs.
While the PPA has been adjusted to reflect current fuel costs, please be aware that the average Bozrah Light and Power residential customer bill is still $21 less than the average Connecticut electric utility, making our average residential rate 13% less.
Bozrah Light and Power will continue to monitor and review the cost of power and make appropriate adjustments accordingly.
Bozrah Light and Power stresses that now, more than ever, customers need to do all they can to conserve energy to reduce their monthly utility bill. We encourage customers to visit the Residential Energy Conservation section of our website and discover all the different ways you can conserve energy and save money, such as scheduling a free Home Energy Audit and/or starting a home insulation project to reduce heating & cooling costs. Additionally, Bozrah Light and Power is currently running a promotion on rebates for the purchase of Electric Vehicles, HVAC Mini-Splits, Hybrid Heat Pump Water Heaters and Smart Thermostats. Visit our Residential Energy Conservation Center and learn about all our current offerings.
The Groton Utilities Operations Complex on Poquonnock Road has a thriving osprey population that employees are prideful of. These fish hawks (also known as sea hawks or river hawks) generally migrate back to our ground mid-March each year. Our Watershed Patrol and Surveillance group, together with the Water Treatment Plant and Water Laboratory staff have monitored and tracked their arrival for the past 30 years. The osprey stay until the fall, at which point they head south for the winter – ranging from the southern United States through Argentina. Throughout the active season Watershed Patrol and Surveillance monitor and report to Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (