Connecticut residents who are outraged at the size of their electricity bills should spend time on the website of the U.S. Energy Information Agency (eia.gov).

This website has a wealth of easily-understood information on all sources of energy, including the cost of electricity broken down on a state-by-state basis. It shows that Connecticut is in the top five for its residential cost of electricity. The website’s data reflects kilowatt hour rates in May and thus does not yet reflect the recent ridiculous cost increases. The website address is as follows: https://www.eia.gov/state/rankings/?sid=US#/series/31

In May Hawaii, California, Massachusetts and Rhode Island had higher rates than did our fair state. My guess is that we have probably edged up in this deplorable ranking, perhaps now challenging even high-cost California. I used to cover the cost of electricity and deregulation for The Day’s editorial page until I left in 2006, and I regularly checked this website to supplement my reporting. Connecticut was nearly always among the top five most expensive states in the country when it came to the cost of electricity.

This situation is not new. The problem is systemic; it needs long-term answers that the legislature has refused to tackle in the past but now, perhaps, can no longer be papered over.

Maura Casey

Franklin

Note: The writer is a former associate editorial page editor at The Day and a former editorial writer for The New York Times.