Senate Republicans are calling on state Democrats to back a special session of the General Assembly to reduce so-called “public benefit” charges, and Gov. Ned Lamont now says he’s willing to consider it.

The move comes as a petition on change.org to reduce electricity costs statewide now has soared to more than 55,000 supporters,

“Governor Lamont agrees that Connecticut residents are paying too much for electricity and has said he would be open to considering practical solutions to help lower costs in a special session,” Lamont spokesman David Bednarz said in an email Monday afternoon. “This is not a partisan issue as we all agree that we need a solution to lower energy costs.”

It was unclear whether Lamont would be actively pushing for a special session, as Bednarz did not respond to follow-up questions. Electric utility customers have been organizing against public-benefit costs for the past month, with the online petition seeing an increase in support of more than 30,000 in the past two weeks alone.

The public-benefit aspect of state electricity bills, largely obscured in past years by combining it with another category, recently was placed in a prominent spot on monthly statements sent to Eversource Energy and United Illuminating customers.

Then, on July 1, the public-benefit costs on Eversource bills soared by an average of $48 a month, largely related to a 2017 decision by the state legislature to support continued operation of the Millstone nuclear power plants in Waterford, though some costs are tied to another legislative decision to halt power shutoffs during COVID.

The public-benefit costs re-entered the spotlight last week when the utility regulator PURA voted unanimously to approve another $80 million in costs associated with Eversource and United Illuminating building a grid for charging the state's electric vehicles. The average electricity bill was expected to see another jump of $3 a month starting in September and running through April 2025.

"In February, Connecticut Republican legislators stood up and warned of the very electricity bill disaster we have witnessed over the past month,“ the state Senate Republican caucus said in a release Monday. ”The majority Connecticut Democrats – who alone have controlled every lever of power in this state for the past 15 years – chose to do nothing and, last month, our residents began paying a shocking price for the Democrats' dithering.“

Among the Republicans’ proposed solutions in February were to:

– put a cap on all future power purchase agreements to ensure no contract can exceed 100% of the wholesale electric market price.

– use unspent American Rescue Plan Act money to provide relief to consumers.

– redefine Class I renewable energy sources to include hydropower and nuclear power to lower the cost of these energy sources.

– separate the state’s utility regulator PURA from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

– study ways to increase natural gas supply in New England.

– study moving public policy charges off of ratepayer bills entirely and into the general budget.

Republicans said in a statement that they were offering “real, practical solutions to mitigate the skyrocketing ‘Public Benefit’ charges.” These charges were made even more unpalatable as extreme heat in recent weeks caused residents statewide to use more electricity for fans and air conditioners.

Several Democratic legislators in the past few days, including three members of the Energy and Technology Committee, have called on PURA to take another look at its April decision considering the “serious rate shock” it created as of July 1. Several legislators have suggested PURA could have spread out the cost over a two-year period rather than the eight-month time frame that had been approved.

The statement from the committee’s two chairmen, Sen. Norm Needleman and Rep. John Steinberg, along with Rep. Jaime Foster, the vice chair, acknowledged “significant increases to public benefits portions of bills due to PURA’s action,” according to a CTNewsJunkie report. Other moderate Democrats have joined Republicans in requesting a public hearing on the issue.

But Republicans characterized the Democrats as mostly being silent on the issue or trying to shift the blame to Republicans.

“Ridiculous. Connecticut needs leaders who are willing to stand up and be accountable for their actions, or lack thereof,” the GOP caucus said in a statement. “Every day that goes by is an opportunity wasted to help our residents ― particularly our seniors, our working-class families, and those living on fixed incomes.”

The statement was signed by all 12 Republican senators, including Heather Somers of Groton.

State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, said she doubted Gov. Lamont will be pushing for a special session anytime soon. She added in a phone interview that the idea people’s electrical bills are going up to pay for people unwilling or unable to pay their bills was a fallacy, as much of the cost was related to failed businesses leaving uncollectable debt. She pointed out that Eversource, unlike most unregulated companies, is not required to eat the costs when businesses are unable to pay, and instead ratepayers have to make up the difference.

That’s a policy, she said, that could be revisited.

l.howard@theday.com