Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz speaks about energy policy on the grounds of the State Capitol on Sept. 15, 2026. Credit: Jamil Ragland / CTNewsJunkie

HARTFORD, CT — With global uncertainty driving up energy costs just weeks before a statewide election and Republicans saying the party in charge hasn’t done enough, Democratic officials and clean energy advocates declared their efforts to lower energy prices have helped keep prices stable.

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, joined by advocates and other elected officials, made the case for four more years of Lamont administration energy policy Tuesday morning on the grounds of the State Capitol.

“We’re here because energy costs remain too high for families,” she said. “When a family opens an electric bill and wonders what they’re gonna have to cut to pay for it, or when a senior is living on a fixed income and has to choose between keeping the heat on and buying groceries, that is a real crisis.”

Bysiewicz said the state must lower energy demand to lower energy bills by helping families reduce wasted energy through improvements in energy efficiency. She also said the state needs to continue expanding its sources of clean, reliable energy, and to build a more reliable energy grid to sustain shocks from climate related events. 

She criticized Sen. Ryan Fazio of Greenwich, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, and legislative Republicans for what she called their opposition to investments in modernization.

“They’ve spent a lot of time pointing fingers, they’ve been complaining about the costs, they’ve been attacking renewable energy, but what they’ve failed to do is offer a serious plan that addresses the underlying problems driving the costs up,” she said. “You can’t make energy more affordable just by complaining about the bill when it comes.”

Fazio said in a statement the Lamont administration has passed the cost of subsidies to private energy companies onto ratepayers through increases in public benefits charges on utility bills. Fazio has proposed eliminating the charge.

“Lamont and the Democratic legislature have had eight years to address this problem, they’re in power right now, and could start solving it right now. Instead, they’re hosting a press conference,” Fazio said. “I’ve proposed eliminating those charges to reduce electricity bills by 20%, and I’m ready to debate Governor Lamont on energy costs and his record any day.”

Fazio also said it was telling that Lamont himself was not present at the Democratic event.

“Governor Lamont can’t show up because he can’t defend his own record,” Fazio said. “Electricity rates have increased 39% on his watch, and now, less than two months before Election Day, he’s making another promise to fix the problem. His record says don’t believe him.” 

Rep. Jamie Foster, D-Ellington, outlined the three strategy priorities the Lamont administration and legislative Democrats have pursued: preventing unnecessary cost, distributing necessary costs more fairly, and giving families and businesses greater control over their expenses.

She said it was easy for Republicans to talk about how they would do better, but their proposals had consistently lacked substance.

“Connecticut has in fact made energy significantly more affordable by pursuing three complementary strategies we’ve already made meaningful progress on,” she said.

Despite state level efforts, Bysiewicz acknowledged that many factors outside the state influence the price of energy, including transmission fees from other states and global events like the war between the United States and Iran, which she called illegal. Gasoline remains more than $1 more expensive than last year, portending higher than usual oil prices for the coming winter months, she said.