Residential electricity costs more in Connecticut than any other contiguous US state (only Hawaii’s is higher).

As of August, 2009, the average retail cost of electricity to Connecticut residents was $.2038, which includes the actual cost of the kilowatt of electricity plus the delivery charges and fees.

As far as I know, you are pretty much stuck with Connecticut Light and Power as your electricity delivery agent, but I do know you have a wide choice of options for who your electricity generator is – and in pretty much any case anyone else is cheaper than CL&P.

I have been using Direct Energy for the past year or so after a call from one of their telemarketers, but recently came across this comparison page and found I could not only get a better rate, but I could also be using provider which had a higher percentage of renewable energy.

Unless I’m blind, its really a no-brainer to switch to Viridian – they have the lowest rate in Connecticut AND the highest percentage of renewables (except for a more expensive 100% renewable plan from ConEd). If you have a copy of your electric bill, you can go over there and switch to them online in about 60 seconds – its *really* easy, doesn’t cost anything, and there is no fee if you cancel with them.

Like I said, no brainer.

When the switchover happens and you get your next bill from CL&P, you will see the generator broken out in the bill.

So, how much would you save? Well, the average Connecticut household uses 764 kWh/mo over the course of a year, so at the current prices you would save $240/yr!

I just wanted to note that while this sounds like a sales pitch, I don’t have any relationship to Viridian or any power supplier – I have just been spending a lot of time this month trying to lower my bills and save electricity around the house – I have some more tips for both coming up.