Hartford — Speakers at a public hearing Tuesday debated whether special legislation being considered to allow the Millstone Power Station in Waterford to sell its power directly to electricity distributors through a state-run bid process would help or hurt ratepayers.

“The main focus of this has to be to help ratepayers,” said Eric Brown, general counsel for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, during testimony before the General Assembly’s Energy and Technology Committee. “It has to lower costs and make the state more competitive.”

At issue is legislation being crafted that would allow Millstone, which produces more than half the electricity consumed in Connecticut, to bid for long-term contracts to sell its power directly to United Illuminating and Eversource rather than to third-party brokers, as is now the case. The bill, which is still being developed, would allow the nuclear plant owner Dominion Resources into the same state-run process for power contracts with renewable energy, big hydroelectric producers and trash-to-energy plants.

The bid mechanism was created by the state to foster the growth or renewable power and obtain more of the state’s power from sources that don’t emit greenhouse gases. Millstone, while it is considered a “zero carbon” emitter, is currently not allowed into that bid process.

Dominion officials and supporters of the bill argue that the measure is needed to ensure the long-term viability of the plant and keep the state on track toward meeting ambitious goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Closures of at least five nuclear plants around the country, along with falling natural gas prices that have injected volatility into energy markets and depressed power prices, put the plant’s future at risk, supporters say.

Kevin Hennessy, director of state, local and federal affairs for Dominion New England, said the bill could be written to ensure ratepayers would benefit in a process that would be overseen by state regulators.

“We feel confident we can bring down rates,” he said.

He added that allowing Millstone into the bid process would not, as some fear, suppress the growth of renewable energy projects if they were not able to remain competitive against a large producer like Millstone. Separate state policies created to spur renewable energy growth remain in place to ensure that wouldn’t happen, he said.

Supporters, including the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, as well as state Reps. Kathleen McCarty, R-Waterford, and Melissa Ziobron, R-East Haddam, both of whom are bill co-sponsors, argue that that the bill “is not a handout” for Millstone but a mechanism to preserve jobs, benefit ratepayers and the environment.

However, several other speakers were skeptical. Among them were David Thomas and John Erlingheuser of the Connecticut chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons.

“I do believe we need Dominion, and I do believe in its contribution to our clean energy goals,” Erlingheuser said. “But they’re a utility asking for a special deal. Without a public inspection of their books, I have a hard time believing” that company profits have declined enough to warrant the action.

Roddy Diotalevi, senior director of sales and external relations for United Illuminating, said his company is concerned the measure would give Millstone an unfair advantage over other power producers. Similar concerns were expressed in testimony submitted by a coalition of three power producers, Dynegy Inc., NRG Energy and Calpine Corp., along with the Electric Power Supply Association. The group argued that Dominion has not disclosed financial information to verify that it needs the special access to the bid process, and that approving the bill would “do more harm than good to the competitive markets, the state of Connecticut and most importantly the consumers.”

“All power plants provide valuable services to the region, but subsidizing one simply puts the others at risk,” said Matt Fossen, spokesman for the group.

Nancy Burton of Redding, director of the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone, also submitted testimony opposing the bill.

Jim King, representative for Connecticut Industrial Energy Consumers, said his group “just doesn’t see the need” for the legislation based on current facts. While it supports efforts to enhance power reliability, cut energy costs and reduce the state’s carbon footprint, it does not believe Millstone needs special legislation to achieve that. ISO New England, he noted, has a contract with Dominion that prevents retirement of the Millstone plants at least through 2021. ISO, or Independent System Operator, is the nonprofit regional electricity transmission organization for the six New England states.

But Brown, of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, was among those who said the recent and pending closures of nuclear plants, including two in New England, provide ample evidence that the risks to the plant are real.

“We don’t need to see their books. The marketplace is sending a clear message that nuclear power is struggling,” he said.

State Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme and co-chairman of the committee, said the final version of the bill will be written to accomplish two main goals: preserve the baseload power supplied by Millstone, and reduce electricity rates. A second hearing is planned once the committee considers all the testimony and crafts language to address the main concerns.

“We want to make sure it’s in the best interests of ratepayers,” he said. “But if the baseload goes away, what would happen to rates?”

j.benson@theday.com