What Is the Public Benefits Charge on Your Eversource Bill?

If you studied your Eversource bill in the summer of 2024, one line item probably jumped out — because it suddenly got a lot bigger. The Public Benefits charge briefly became the most talked-about line on any utility bill in Connecticut.

Here's what it actually is, in plain English.

What does the Public Benefits charge pay for?

The Public Benefits charge is part of the delivery side of your bill. It funds programs the state legislature has decided should be paid for through electric rates rather than taxes, including:

• Hardship protections — covering unpaid bills of customers who couldn't pay during shutoff moratoriums
• Power purchase agreements the state directed utilities to sign (most notably with the Millstone nuclear plant)
• Energy efficiency programs — home energy audits, insulation and appliance rebates
• Low-income rate discounts and assistance programs

None of this is Eversource's profit. But none of it is optional, either — it's collected per kilowatt-hour from every customer.

Why did it spike in 2024?

In July 2024, regulators approved a large, temporary increase in the Public Benefits charge to recover two big costs at once: the Millstone power contract and a backlog of unpaid customer bills from the pandemic-era shutoff moratorium. For a typical household the jump was tens of dollars per month, and it landed in the middle of an air-conditioning season — which is why it made headlines.

In September 2025, state lawmakers stepped in and cut the Public Benefits charge by moving some of those costs to state bonding instead of monthly bills. Bills came down — but the underlying costs didn't disappear. They were refinanced.

Will it go back up?

Nobody can promise it won't. The honest answer is that the Public Benefits charge exists precisely because it's a flexible place to put costs the state needs to recover. Rates in Connecticut have historically climbed roughly 4–5% a year on average, and the 2024 spike showed how quickly a single line item can move when a big cost lands.

That unpredictability — more than any single rate — is what frustrates homeowners. You can't budget around a bill that can change twice a year for supply and any time regulators approve a new delivery charge.

Can you avoid the Public Benefits charge?

Not entirely — it's charged per kilowatt-hour you draw from the grid, and every grid-connected home pays it. But that phrasing contains the loophole: it's charged per kilowatt-hour you draw from the grid.

Homes that produce most of their own power simply have fewer kilowatt-hours for the charge to apply to. That's true of the supply charge, the usage-based delivery charges, and the Public Benefits charge alike. It's one of the quieter reasons Connecticut homeowners look at solar: not just cheaper power, but fewer billable kilowatt-hours across the whole bill.

If you want to see how all the pieces of your bill fit together — and what a fixed, predictable electricity cost would look like for your home — start with our simple walkthrough of how solar works. And if you're curious what the state's solar program pays for the power you export, see our guide to net metering in Connecticut.

The bottom line

• The Public Benefits charge funds state energy programs, hardship protections, and state-directed power contracts
• It spiked in July 2024, then was reduced in September 2025 by shifting costs to state bonds — refinanced, not eliminated
• It's billed per kWh drawn from the grid, so the only way to shrink it is to draw fewer kWh