Heating oil dealers
The decision calls for spending $7 billion of state money to expand gas pipelines in Connecticut and convert customers to the fuel. The aim is to sign up 280,000 more gas customers over ten years.
That has enraged home heating oil dealers. Chris Herb of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association said, “I am shocked that the state of Connecticut would buy into a plan to raise rates on businesses by 50 percent.”
UPDATE: The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded to this story, saying that the expansion will be financed by natural gas utility companies, and does not involve any taxpayer money. In response to Chris Herb's claim that business rates would be raised 50 percent, DEEP spokesman Dennis Schain had this to say:
"New business customers... and new business customers only... would pay a surcharge for 10 years to help finance the expansion of the natural gas distribution network. That surcharge could be up to 50 percent of the distribution half of their bill. So the impact of the premium on the overall bill is only about half of the 50 percent... or 25 percent."
He continued, "The impact of the expansion plan on existing natural gas customers will be very minimal - anticipated to be less than a 2 percent effect on bills in the first four years of the plan."
DEEP said that the plan is intended to facilitate competition on a playing field previously tilted in favor of heating oil.