{"id":2916,"date":"2026-03-12T13:02:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/?p=2916"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:02:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:02:31","slug":"pura-oks-ui-68m-revenue-customers-may-see-rate-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/pura-oks-ui-68m-revenue-customers-may-see-rate-hike\/","title":{"rendered":"PURA OKs UI $68M Revenue; Customers May See Rate Hike"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>When Could a UI Rate Hike Come?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CT-UI-Rate-Hike-PURA-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Learn why UI could hike customer electric rates after a PURA revenue decision for the utility.\" class=\"wp-image-2929\" title=\"When Could a UI Rate Hike Come?\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CT-UI-Rate-Hike-PURA-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CT-UI-Rate-Hike-PURA-230x153.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CT-UI-Rate-Hike-PURA-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CT-UI-Rate-Hike-PURA-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CT-UI-Rate-Hike-PURA.jpg 724w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption><center><em>The PURA revenue decision will give $65 million to UI and experts expect to see a rate hike coming to customer electric bills later this year.<\/em><\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We all know that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/ct-electricity-rates-by-city\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CT electricity rates<\/a> are some of the highest energy bills in the country. So smart energy shoppers keep an eye out for when rate hikes may be on the way. That&#8217;s why many CT customers are concerned with a recent PURA decision about <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/companies\/united-illuminating-ct\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">United Illuminating<\/a><\/strong> revenue returns. But does this decision mean that your bills could rise? Here&#8217;s what you need to know about the rate hike that could come with the UI revenue return increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Why PURA Agrees to UI Revenue Increase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Back in 2024, <strong>UI<\/strong> filed a request for a $105.4 million increase in revenue, which includes a significant increase in distribution revenue. After much deliberation, PURA reached a decision that allows UI to increase annual revenue by about <a href=\"https:\/\/ctnewsjunkie.com\/2026\/03\/04\/ct-regulators-allow-ui-68m-added-revenue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$68 million<\/a>. The utility explains that they need the money to properly invest in the grid and make it more reliable. They further explain that the increase reflects rising operating costs including hardware upgrades and modernizing the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can guess, a lot of this income would come from distribution charges. As a result, analysts expect that <a href=\"https:\/\/ctexaminer.com\/2026\/03\/03\/ui-customers-face-potential-rate-hike-after-pura-approves-revenue-boost\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><strong>UI <\/strong>customer rates<\/a> will rise in the future. The approved rates would be effective from November 1 of last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>How Big Would a UI Rate Hike Be?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>An increase would add more hardship for some CT households struggling to pay electric bills. During the <a href=\"https:\/\/news-usa.today\/ct-severe-cold-weather-protocol-extended-to-feb-10-2026-lamont\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recent harsh winter season<\/a>, most CT homes used more energy than normal. Early estimates suggest that possibly by October, bills for 750 kWh of use could rise by around <a href=\"https:\/\/patch.com\/connecticut\/across-ct\/ct-attorney-general-reacts-harshly-regulators-ok-more-ui-profits#google_vignette\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">$10 a month<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>PURA Decision Criticism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can guess, homeowners and many lawmakers are not happy about this decision. In fact, Attorney General William Tong <a href=\"https:\/\/portal.ct.gov\/ag\/press-releases\/2026-press-releases\/statement-regarding-new-pura-decision-further-increasing-united-illuminating-rates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">called out the decision<\/a> in a statement from March 3. He noted the decision removed penalties for the utility for failing to clean up <a href=\"https:\/\/yaledailynews.com\/articles\/is-a-new-haven-island-too-contaminated-for-a-proposed-park\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">contamination at English Station<\/a> in New Haven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>What CT Customers Can Do<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The PURA decision doesn&#8217;t automatically raise the UI distribution charge. However, it does make it more likely a UI rate hike is coming in the near future. And because this affects distribution charges, all UI customers will have to pay it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, you can lower your bills by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/resources\/10-quick-energy-saving-tips\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">saving energy<\/a> and shopping for cheaper electricity rates. You can start shopping for cheaper rates right here at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com<\/a>. You can also count on us for news and tips that could affect your bills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Could a UI Rate Hike Come? We all know that CT [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":2928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mbp_gutenberg_autopost":false},"categories":[173,172,151],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2916"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2916"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2932,"href":"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2916\/revisions\/2932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ctenergyratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}