RATES WILL RISE

Less than an hour ago, the Connecticut House of Representatives passed SB 493, "An act reducing electricity costs and promoting renewable energy. The vote was 81-40, with 30 absent. Presumably, the absent ran for cover, for fear they could pay a political price in November. Late last night, the Senate voted 20-14 in favor of the bill.

Under repeated questioning from Rep. Sean Williams, R-Watertown, the co-chair of the Energy and Technology Committee, Rep. Vicki Nardello, D-Prospect, failed to answer pointed questions about the bill. And she is the one pushing hard for it. She could not even guarantee that electricity rates would drop, which is a promise of the bill. What the bill would do is crimp the electricity supplier market, just as the concept is beginning to resonate with the public.

The debate at 5:30 this morning was emblematic of how the General Assembly does business. under the liberal Democrats: pass a massive overhaul bill, friendly to the extreme left, without major public hearings, in the early morning hours, in the hope it might work, all the while raising our rates. Our only hope is Gov. Rell will veto the bill.