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Rally To Protest Eversource Rate Hike Friday, July 31; Bill Relief Offered

People are planning to protest an electricity rate hike today, Friday, July 31, outside the Eversource building in Berlin.

A rally to protest electricity rate hikes is planned for Friday, July 31, at around 2:30 p.m. at Eversource in Berlin.

A rally to protest electricity rate hikes is planned for Friday, July 31, at around 2:30 p.m. at Eversource in Berlin.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

The protest is slated for 2:30 p.m., Fox61 reported.

Eversource said it is extending financial assistance and working with customers who are struggling with a rate increase that went into effect on July 1.

The company says it has received thousands of customer calls this week regarding the higher bills.

Meanwhile, the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority announced Thursday, July 30, that it is investigating Eversource’s rate hike.

State politicians including Governor Ned Lamont have made statements critical of the increase.

Eversource said it has created a new program to aid financially struggling customers by expanding its New Start program, which forgives overdue balances as customers make payments.

Eversource says the higher bills are due to several factors:

- Due to the pandemic, people are at home using their electrical devices more

- The recent heatwave has led to an increase in energy use (consumption was up by 26 percent in June compared to the same time last year, Eversource said.)

- Rates have been scheduled to rise since 2019 when the company was state-mandated to buy power from a nuclear power plant so as to keep meeting customers’ electricity demands.*

For more information about how Eversource is providing financial relief to customers, call the company at (800) 286-2000. 

*A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the relationship between Eversource and the nuclear plant.

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