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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 4
AN ACT CONCERNING ENERGY AFFORDABILITY, ACCESS AND
ACCOUNTABILITY.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
§§ 1 & 4 — NEW NUCLEAR CONSTRUCTION
Creates a second exception from the nuclear moratorium for advanced nuclear reactors that
meet certain requirements and expands DEEP’s duties related to atomic development activity
§§ 2 & 3 — ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR AND OFFSHORE WIND
ENERGY SITE READINESS FUNDING PROGRAM
Requires DEEP to establish an advanced nuclear reactor and offshore wind site readiness
funding program; authorizes up to $5 million in state bonds to fund it
§ 5 — GAS EFFICIENCY AND ACTIVE DEMAND R ESPONSE
Expands an existing procurement authorization to include active demand response projects and
gas demand response projects
§ 6 — MILLSTONE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT AND
STANDARD SERVICE PRO CUREMENT
Creates a process for EDCs to use power and related products purchased from nuclear
facilities to meet standard service requirements
§ 7 — RENEWABLE THER MAL ENERGY NETWORKS
Requires PURA to establish a utility-scale renewable thermal energy network program,
including a pilot component, working group, and study
§ 8 — EMERGENCY SERV ICE RESTORATION PLANNING
COMMITTEES
Requires utilities and other companies to form emergency service restoration planning
committees with line and restoration crew members to prepare their emergency restoration
plan and expands the plan’s required contents
§§ 9 & 10 — LINEWORKER AND RESTORATION CREW MEMBER
SAFETY
Prohibits EDCs from requiring line and restoration crew members to work in unsafe conditions
or retaliating against them for not restoring service within 96 hours
§ 11 — PURA PROCEEDING ON MEDICAL HARDSHIP CUSTOMERS
Requires PURA to evaluate service termination protections for medical hardship customers
and report to the Energy and Technology Committee by February 4, 2026
SUMMARY
This bill makes various changes in energy-related laws on nuclear
energy, energy site readiness funding, energy procurements, renewable 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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thermal energy networks, and restoration crew safety, as described in
the section-by-section analysis below.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Various, see below.
§§ 1 & 4 — NEW NUCLEAR CONSTRUCTION
Nuclear Moratorium Exceptions (§ 1)
Creates a second exception from the nuclear moratorium for advanced nuclear reactors
that meet certain requirements and expands DEEP’s duties related to atomic development
activity
Current law generally prohibits construction from starting on a new
nuclear facility unless and until the Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection (DEEP) commissioner finds that the federal
government identified and approved a demonstrable technology or way
to dispose of high-level nuclear waste, with an exception for
construction at a nuclear power generating facility currently operating
in the state (i.e. Millstone Power Station in Waterford).
The bill creates a second exemption from the moratorium for
advanced nuclear reactor facilities. Under federal law, advanced nuclear
reactors are:
1. nuclear fission reactors, including prototype plants, with
significant improvements compared to reactors operating in 2020
(e.g., additional safety features, lower waste yields, and
improved fuel and material performance);
2. fusion reactors; and
3. radioisotope power systems that generate energy using heat
from radioactive decay.
The moratorium exception for advanced nuclear reactors applies to
facilities that get consent, either by a referendum or a vote of the
legislative body, from (1) the municipality where the proposed facility
is sited and (2) any other municipality in the proposed facility’s
emergency planning zone, as the federal Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) determines. 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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For both exceptions (construction at Millstone and advanced nuclear
reactors), the bill requires the entity proposing a new facility to get all
permits, licenses, and permissions or approvals for the facility’s
construction, operation, and decommissioning funding required under
any applicable federal laws, NRC regulations, and any other federal or
state law, rule, or regulation on the facility’s permitting, licensing,
construction, operation, or decommissioning.
DEEP’s Atomic Development Activity Coordination Duties (§ 4)
Existing law requires the DEEP commissioner to coordinate all
atomic development activities in the state, including advising the
governor and coordinating the state’s development and regulatory
activities on atomic energy’s industrial and commercial uses, among
other things. The bill additionally requires the commissioner to be a
point of contact for public and private stakeholders to help them comply
with federal, state, and local requirements related to atomic
development (e.g., siting considerations and permitting).
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2025
§§ 2 & 3 — ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR AND OFFSHORE
WIND ENERGY SITE REA DINESS FUNDING PROGR AM
Requires DEEP to establish an advanced nuclear reactor and offshore wind site readiness
funding program; authorizes up to $5 million in state bonds to fund it
The bill requires the DEEP commissioner to establish a competitive
advanced nuclear reactor and offshore wind energy site readiness
funding program. It allows the commissioner to give “eligible
recipients” grants or loans to support the following activities related to
advanced nuclear reactor facilities and offshore wind facilities:
1. environmental and technical studies required for early site
permitting,
2. local and regional infrastructure assessments to support facility
development,
3. community engagement and planning initiatives for hosting
facilities, and 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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4. other necessary expenses the commissioner identifies to advance
site readiness.
Under the bill, eligible recipients for the program’s grants and loans
are:
1. regional governmental entities, municipalities, regional councils
of government, public authorities, state or federally recognized
tribes, or municipal electric utilities or cooperatives, with a
demonstrated interest in hosting advanced nuclear reactors or
offshore wind facilities as the commissioner determines;
2. private entities partnering with or interested in doing so with the
entities described above to develop these facilities; and
3. higher education institutions in the state.
The bill authorizes up to $5 million in state bonding for the DEEP
commissioner to award the program’s grants and loans. It also allows
the commissioner to (1) use federal funds allocated to the state to
support the program, (2) revise its program criteria to be consistent with
federal funding program criteria, and (3) use the federal funds to hire a
technical consultant to implement the bill’s provisions on the program.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2025
§ 5 — GAS EFFICIENCY AND ACTIVE DEMAND R ESPONSE
Expands an existing procurement authorization to include active demand response
projects and gas demand response projects
Current law authorizes DEEP to solicit proposals for passive demand
response measures to reduce demand and improve reliability, and then
direct electric distribution companies (EDCs, i.e. Eversource and United
Illuminating) to enter into 20-year contracts for selected projects. The
bill expands this authorization (1) to include active demand response
measures and (2) by allowing DEEP to solicit and direct gas companies
into 20-year contracts for active or demand response proposals.
(Generally, “demand response” refers to measures designed to save
energy. Passive measures reduce energy demand at all times, while 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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active measures can be activated when needed.)
The bill correspondingly (1) removes a requirement that demand
response projects reduce electric demand by at least one megawatt
(MW) and (2) requires gas companies, in addition to EDCs, to consult
with the Energy Conservation Management Board to assess the
feasibility of demand response proposals. Existing law and the bill limit
these proposals to projects that are additive to existing and projected
demand reduction achieved through the conservation and load
management programs.
The bill requires the DEEP commissioner to consider the same factors
as under current law when selecting proposals, including whether
benefits to ratepayers outweigh costs, fuel diversity, and contributions
to meeting state greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requirements, among
other things.
Current law caps the proposals DEEP may select at 10% of EDC load,
with the cap applying to the aggregate amount of proposals for demand
response measures as well as proposals existing law authorizes for (1)
Class I renewable energy sources (e.g., wind and solar) and Class III
resources (e.g., combined heat and power) of up to two MW in capacity;
(2) energy storage systems; (3) Class I renewable energy sources of 20
MW or larger; and (4) verifiable large-scale hydropower. The bill
additionally caps the aggregate amount of these proposals at 10% of the
state’s gas utility load.
Current law allows the DEEP commissioner to direct the EDCs into
long-term contracts for selected passive demand response measures,
among other things. The bill additionally allows DEEP to direct them to
enter into long-term contracts for active demand response measures and
electricity time-of-use shifts, and requires that active or passive demand
response measures yield electric savings. It also allows the DEEP
commissioner to direct the gas companies to enter into long-term
contracts for active or passive demand response measures that yield gas
savings or time-of-use shifts from proposals submitted under the bill, so
long as the contract’s benefits outweigh its costs to gas customers. 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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Current law requires EDCs to submit any agreement to the Public
Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) for approval and PURA to
approve it if it is cost effective and in ratepayers’ best interests. If PURA
does not issue a decision within 90 days after the submission, the
agreement is deemed approved. By law, EDCs must recover the net
costs of agreements on a timely basis through a fully reconciling
component of electric rates. The bill similarly requires gas companies to
submit agreements to PURA for approval and recover net costs the same
way. Under the bill, if an EDC and gas company both apply to recover
net costs for the same agreement, PURA must determine which costs are
attributable to each company.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2025
Background — Related Bill
sHB 5004, § 18, favorably reported by the Environment Committee,
similarly expands this procurement authority for gas companies and
active demand response.
§ 6 — MILLSTONE POWER PURC HASE AGREEMENT AND
STANDARD SERVICE PRO CUREMENT
Creates a process for EDCs to use power and related products purchased from nuclear
facilities to meet standard service requirements
The bill creates a process for EDCs to use any portion or combination
of the energy, capacity, or other energy products purchased from an
eligible nuclear power generating facility as a result of DEEP’s
procurements for zero-carbon resources.
Existing law authorizes the DEEP commissioner to solicit proposals
for up to 12 million MW-hours of energy annually, in the aggregate,
from zero-carbon electricity generating resources that meet certain
requirements. If she finds one or more proposals to be in the ratepayers’
best interests, she must direct the EDCs to enter into agreements to
purchase energy, capacity, and environmental attributes under the
selected proposals. Agreements are subject to PURA’s review and
approval, and the EDCs must recover their net costs of the agreements
through a nonbypassable, fully reconciling component of ratepayer
bills. In practice, DEEP conducted solicitations under these provisions 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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and the EDCs entered into contracts with selected bidders, including
Millstone Power Station in Waterford and Seabrook Station in New
Hampshire. For any solicitations DEEP issues after July 1, 2024, for
eligible nuclear power generating facilities, existing law requires DEEP
to conduct them with at least two other New England states. It also
prohibits the commissioner from directing EDCs to enter into contracts
unless two other New England states also select a proposal. Eligible
nuclear facilities are those in the ISO-New England control area that are
licensed to operate through at least January 1, 2030.
The bill allows EDCs to request that PURA’s procurement manager
authorize the EDC to use any portion of the energy, capacity, or other
energy products procured through DEEP’s zero-carbon solicitation to
provide electric generating services for standard service (the supply
purchased for residential customers who do not opt to purchase from a
retail electric supplier). It requires the procurement manager to:
1. approve or deny the request, in consultation with the Office of
Consumer Counsel, within 15 days after receiving it;
2. only approve requests the procurement manager concludes are
in standard service customers’ best interests;
3. set the quantity for products the EDC uses for standard service
under any approved request and the time period over which they
will be used; and
4. set the price standard service customers will pay for products the
EDC uses for standard service under any approved request,
which the bill caps at the price the company paid under
agreements entered into under DEEP’s zero carbon procurement.
Under the bill, if the procurement manager approves the request, the
cost of the products must be paid solely by standard service customers,
in accordance with the quantity and price the procurement manager
establishes.
The bill prohibits nuclear power generating facility owners and 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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operators from paying any administrative costs associated with the
procurement manager’s actions in making determinations under the
bill’s provisions on using energy products from nuclear generating
facilities for the standard service. The bill also specifies that its
provisions do not amend or alter terms or conditions of contracts
entered into under DEEP’s zero carbon procurements.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2025
Background — Related Bill
sSB 1194, favorably reported by the Energy and Technology
Committee, allows EDCs to use energy or related products purchased
under the zero-carbon procurement or any other approved
procurement, to provide standard service.
§ 7 — RENEWABLE THER MAL ENERGY NETWO RKS
Requires PURA to establish a utility-scale renewable thermal energy network program,
including a pilot component, working group, and study
The bill requires PURA to start a proceeding within 12 months after
the bill passes to establish a program for gas companies to develop
utility-scale renewable thermal energy networks. Under the bill, a
network is distribution infrastructure to provide thermal energy for the
following uses:
1. space heating and cooling,
2. domestic hot water production,
3. refrigeration,
4. thermal energy storage, or
5. commercial and industrial processes that require heating or
cooling.
These networks are implemented through interconnections between
at least one renewable thermal energy resource, that may be owned by
multiple parties, and heat pumps in multiple buildings owned by
multiple parties. Renewable thermal energy is (1) ambient heating or 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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cooling provided, absorbed, or stored by geothermal well boreholes or
other noncombusting, nonnuclear thermal resources that does not
consume fossil fuel or (2) thermal energy otherwise lost to the
atmosphere or other environmental compartment as waste heat.
The bill requires PURA to develop parameters and procedures for
filing proposals for the networks. PURA must also develop a
standardized data collection system that allows it and the public to track
a network’s status and performance. The bill requires PURA to have
data it collects evaluated by a third party to ensure transparency and
validity of project outcomes.
The bill specifies that it does not prohibit a municipality from
developing, owning, or maintaining a utility-scale renewable thermal
energy network.
Ratepayers’ Best Interests
The bill requires PURA to structure the utility-scale renewable
thermal energy network program in the best interest of utility
ratepayers. PURA must base its best-interest determination on the (1)
reasonableness of the project’s size, scope, scale, and character; (2)
related budget; and (3) project’s costs and benefits. Under the bill, the
costs and benefits PURA must consider include at least the following:
1. avoided long-term energy and infrastructure investments in
extending or maintaining gas infrastructure,
2. the project’s anticipated contribution to easing seasonal strains
on the state’s natural gas supply and electric distribution system,
3. consumer protections and benefits for the project’s end users,
4. adherence to best practices emerging from thermal energy
network programs and project designs developed in other states
or elsewhere in the state,
5. a project’s potential to accrue capital and operational cost savings
through interconnection with other existing or future networks, 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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6. air quality improvements in the buildings and neighborhood a
project serves, and
7. GHG emissions reductions that contribute to meeting the state’s
goals.
The bill allows PURA to approve a utility-scale renewable thermal
energy network proposal that meets PURA’s parameters for the
program.
Pilot Component
The bill requires PURA to create a pilot component within the
program that requires each gas company to file proposals for one or two
pilot projects to develop networks that meet PURA’s program
parameters. It requires PURA to review proposals based on the program
parameters and the project’s ability to provide insights into the potential
for (1) scaling up future network deployment in the state, (2) improving
network performance, and (3) reducing the cost to deploy networks
more broadly.
Rate Structures, Cost Recovery, and Other Obligations
Under the bill, PURA must require any network projects submitted
to the program to include (1) a proposed rate structure for thermal
energy services supplied to network end users and (2) consumer
protection plans for end users. The bill allows PURA to approve
proposed rate structures if the projected heating and cooling costs for
end users is no greater than the costs that would occur had they not
participated.
The bill requires PURA to approve a gas company’s recovery of
prudent costs to develop and build projects under the program through
a nonbypassable and fully reconciling component of gas rates for all its
customers. It allows a gas company to meet its obligation to furnish
adequate service at reasonable rates through an approved project.
Working Group and Study
As part of the program, the bill requires PURA to establish a working
group to study thermal energy networks. The working group must 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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include staff from DEEP, the Connecticut Green Bank, gas and electric
companies, and nongovernmental environmental organizations.
The bill requires PURA to do at least one study through the working
group to assess the potential breadth of thermal energy network
deployment in the state. The study must address (1) technical and
economic feasibility; (2) deployment strategies to maximize the scope
and minimize and equitably allocate network costs, including
systematically identifying significant waste heat sources across the state;
(4) deployment considerations; and (5) appropriate parameters for
broader deployment in the near and medium term.
The study’s economic feasibility analysis must consider the potential
for the following:
1. reduced (a) energy costs for customers who are off-takers of the
system, (b) network capital costs as deployment scale increases,
and (c) capital and operating costs as thermal energy networks
are connected;
2. avoided costs of expanding and maintaining the gas distribution
system;
3. minimized costs of expanding the electricity distribution system
to facilitate increased electrification of thermal loads;
4. reduced per-kilowatt-hour costs to supply electricity as more
electricity is sold;
5. available state and federal financial incentives;
6. employing gas utility workers and advancing their skills;
7. providing gas utility companies a business model that is not
dependent on continued fossil fuel combustion; and
8. air quality improvement.
The study must consider deployment in low- and moderate-income
communities, environmental justice communities, new residential and 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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commercial buildings versus retrofitting, urban versus rural
communities, areas with existing gas services versus areas without, and
ownership and business models.
The study’s consideration for appropriate parameters for broader
deployment must include the following:
1. site selection,
2. network design,
3. interactions with and impacts on the gas and electric distribution
system,
4. ratepayer and consumer protections,
5. billing models,
6. data collection, and
7. community engagement and deployment in low- and moderate-
income communities and environmental justice communities.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
Background — Related Bill
sHB 5004, § 16, favorably reported by the Environment Committee,
also requires PURA to establish a utility-scale renewable thermal energy
network program, including a pilot component, working group, and
study 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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§ 8 — EMERGENCY SERV ICE RESTORATION PLAN NING
COMMITTEES
Requires utilities and other companies to form emergency service restoration planning
committees with line and restoration crew members to prepare their emergency restoration
plan and expands the plan’s required contents
The bill requires each company, provider, or utility required under
existing law to submit a service restoration plan (see Background —
Service Restoration Plans) to establish an emergency service restoration
planning committee to prepare the plan. By law, the plan generally
includes ways to communicate and coordinate with officials and
participate in training exercises.
The bill requires at least half the committee’s members to be line and
restoration crew members employed by the company, provider, or
utility. The line and crew members must select committee members
through a process they determine, unless they belong to a collective
bargaining unit, in which case the bargaining unit selects the members.
The company, provider, or utility appoints the remaining committee
members.
Under the bill, the planning committee has two co-chairpersons: one
who is a line and crew member elected by line and crew members on
the committee and one who is elected by the other members. A majority
of members constitutes a quorum to transact committee business, and
decisions are made by a majority vote of members present at any
meeting.
The bill requires the planning committee to (1) take minutes at each
meeting; (2) make them available to any company, utility, or provider
employee upon request; and (3) submit them upon request to PURA and
the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP).
The bill also expands the required contents of a service restoration
plan to include measures to protect the health and safety of (1) line and
restoration crews during an emergency and when restoring service,
including providing appropriate personal protective equipment, and (2)
household and community members during an emergency and during
service restoration. The plan must also have a training and skills plan 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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for line and restoration workers.
If the company, provider, or utility’s line and restoration crew
members belong to a collective bargaining unit, the bill requires the
company, provider, or utility and the collective bargaining unit to
jointly develop the training and skills plan.
Background — Service Restoration Plans
Existing law requires utilities and certain other companies to file and
update plans to restore service interrupted by an emergency (e.g.,
hurricane, storm, flood, and enemy attack) with PURA, DESPP, and
each municipality in the company’s service area. Specifically, this
requirement applies to:
1. EDCs, gas, telephone, pipeline, sewage, and water companies
that own, lease, maintain, operate, manage, or control plants or
equipment;
2. telecommunications companies that install, maintain, operate, or
control poles, wires, conduits, or other fixtures under or over a
public highway to provide telecommunications services;
3. voice over internet protocol service providers; and
4. municipal utilities that provide electric, gas, or water service.
Certain water companies are exempt from the requirement if they
submit a water supply plan under a separate law.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2025
§§ 9 & 10 — LINEWORKER AND RESTORATION C REW MEMBER
SAFETY
Prohibits EDCs from requiring line and restoration crew members to work in unsafe
conditions or retaliating against them for not restoring service within 96 hours
Existing law (1) requires EDCs to make certain payments to
residential customers for prolonged outages after an emergency (e.g., a
storm, flood, or earthquake) and (2) prohibits them from recovering
these costs through rates. Specifically, it requires EDCs to give a (1) $25 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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credit for each day an outage occurs for more than 96 consecutive hours
after an emergency and (2) $250 payment for food or medication that
spoils due to an outage lasting more than 96 consecutive hours after an
emergency.
The bill prohibits EDCs from requiring line and restoration crew
members to work in unsafe conditions to avoid making these credits
and payments. It further prohibits them from disciplining, terminating,
withholding wages from, or otherwise retaliating against line and
restoration crew members for failing to restore service within the 96-
hour period.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2025
§ 11 — PURA PROCEEDI NG ON MEDICAL HARDSH IP
CUSTOMERS
Requires PURA to evaluate service termination protections for medical hardship
customers and report to the Energy and Technology Committee by February 4, 2026
The bill requires PURA to evaluate the criteria and standards related
to appropriate service termination protections for gas company or EDC
customers with a serious illness or life-threatening medical condition.
Under the bill, PURA must, by July 1, 2025, open an uncontested
proceeding or amend the notice of an active proceeding to do this
evaluation to review protections for these customers and make
recommendations on the appropriate standards for conditioning
protections to them on their ability to pay. The evaluation must also
assess the following:
1. whether additional notice requirements before shutoff would be
appropriate for the customers,
2. the current procedures and practices and the relevant
information collected to verify hardship status,
3. ratepayer impacts, and
4. the requirement for these customers to enroll in a payment plan. 2025SB-00004-R000325-BA.DOCX
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The bill requires PURA to submit a report to the Energy and
Technology Committee by February 4, 2026, with a summary of the
proceeding’s results, recommendations on service termination policies,
and procedures evaluated in the proceeding.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
COMMITTEE ACTION
Energy and Technology Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 17 Nay 8 (03/13/2025)