Lawmakers Counsel Seniors on Energy Relief, Avoiding Scams

The issue of energy scamming hit home recently for State Rep. Matt Lesser (D-Durham, Middlefield and Middletown), who says he was targeted by a man purporting to be from CL&P who promised savings — then asked to see his electric bill.

“When I go door to door and I see folks struggling to pay their electric bills,” Lesser says, he’s disturbed by “some folks out there taking advantage of that.”

Lesser was joined by Rep. Joseph Serra (D-Middletown), Connecticut Speaker of the House Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden) and Rep. Vicki O. Nardello (D-Cheshire) Monday for an energy forum targeted to seniors held at the Middletown Senior Center.

Donovan explained the purpose of the forum to the dozen or so seniors in attendance.

“We’re here today to offer tips on staying away from predatory practices, state programs available to seniors to help pay your energy bills and ways to work with the General Assembly to lower energy bills.”

Lesser, who sits on the Energy and Technology Committees along with Nardello, acknowledged many seniors struggle to pay energy bills while on a fixed income. “This year, we’re trying to create a low-income program” in the General Assembly. “It would create a special rate for some of the lowest income seniors. We  can do that without putting the cost on someone else,” he said.

Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 6592, Lesser said, include consumer protective updates that would enforce tougher restrictions for retail electric suppliers to combat energy scammers. Proposals include limiting early termination fees, limiting time of day solicitation can take place and creating a three-day customer cancellation window.

“There are a lot of legitimate businesses out there,” Lesser says, “but remember you don’t have to do business with them if you don’t want to. Read the fine print.”

That’s exactly what Lesser says he did when that salesperson came knocking on his door. “I made a complaint to the [Department of Public Utility Control] and we had the company shut down in early March.”

House Chairman of the legislature’s Committee on Aging Serra had his own run-in with energy scammers. “If it sounds too good to be true, then it isn’t,” he explains. When his 99-year-old mother-in-law, who’s “sharp as a whip,” had a salesperson call her, she asked them to call back after she had spoken to her son-in-law. “Well, they never called back,” Serra says.

“The idea of every man for himself,” Nardello said, will never work for energy reform. “If you have a problem, we need to know.”

Lesser recommends calling CL&P for an energy audit, which costs $75, and may save seniors money in the long run. Locally, the Community Renewal Team works to offset that co-pay for qualifying seniors.

For information on electric bill savings, call (888) 922-3782 or visit ctenergyinfo.com. To report a problem or make a complaint, call (800) 382-4586 or see ct.gov/dpuc.

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