As frigid temperatures grip Connecticut, the debate over electric bills is heating up in Hartford.

On Wednesday, Republican lawmakers unveiled their plan to lower rates. But Democrats called it a “disingenuous” proposal that won’t save customers real money.

State lawmakers say they are focused on offering relief. But so far, there’s been a lot of finger-pointing and few new ideas.

At a news conference Wednesday morning, Republican leaders pulled out a blank easel. They said it represents the Democrats’ energy plan.

“It was the legislative proposal equivalent of 'Seinfeld.' It was a bill about nothing,” said Connecticut Senate GOP Leader Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield).

But the GOP’s proposal is virtually the same as last year – and the year before that. It calls for removing Public Benefits charges from your bill – which includes conservation and renewable energy fees – and placing them back in the state budget.

“The average resident in Connecticut is paying roughly $400 a year in Public Benefits charges," said state Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-Greenwich). "That’s unfair."

Republicans also want to end electric vehicle rebates.

“We do need to look at the reliability of our grid,” said state Rep. Tracey Marra (R-Norwalk). “Programs out there that would add to our demand on the grid, we need to eliminate them.”

The GOP proposal would cap how much Connecticut pays for wholesale electricity.

“You’re forcing the ratepayer to go out and buy $9 a gallon gas basically,” Harding said. “And what we’re saying is, it’s no longer OK to pay – to put it on the back of the ratepayer.”

Republicans – along with Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont – are also calling for more natural gas. But without more pipeline capacity or looser federal shipping rules, Connecticut is already maxed out on what it can buy.

Democrats called the GOP plan “disingenuous.”

They said it would only save customers a few dollars per month because most of last summer’s increase went to buy electricity from the Millstone nuclear plant. When Millstone’s owner threatened to shut it down in 2017 – taking a third of Connecticut’s electric supply offline – lawmakers agreed to buy nuclear power at a fixed price for a decade.

“77% of the Public Benefits Charge is from the Millstone deal that the Republicans pushed and initiated,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk). “The big cost is something they asked for and they wanted.”

Duff also warned that capping wholesale electric contracts could lead to dangerous supply shortages – and even higher bills.

“Does that mean that when there’s the Russian-Ukraine war and there’s high gas prices, somehow we’re supposed to cap those prices?” he asked.

A cap on electric procurements could also put offshore wind power out of reach. Lamont has said extra supply is critical to bringing down rates long-term.

“Especially low carbon supply – starting with our investment in Revolution Wind, which is under construction right now, more commercial solar from Maine,” Lamont said in his State of the State speech this month.

So do the Democrats have a plan? Sort of.

State Senate leaders unveiled legislation last Friday, but it includes few details.

“This bill is an open book,” state Sen. Norm Needleman (D-Essex) said on Friday. “There are no specific things that we’re going to talk about at this moment.”

Democrats did say they might be willing to remove at least one charge from electric bills – the cost of building out electric vehicle chargers. Instead, state transportation bonds would pay for it.

“The EV program is the one that sort of comes to mind,” Needleman said. “Maybe we can move that into bonding. That’s a discussion with the governor.”

Democrats may have a hard time agreeing amongst themselves. While Lamont supports more natural gas, many others believe that doubling down on fossil fuels is a mistake.

“We are not looking to do what the Trump administration wants to do, which is just expand the use of gas and drill,” said Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven). “We are committed to clean energy.”

You can have a say in what happens. In a few weeks, the General Assembly’s Energy and Technology Committee will hold public hearings on various electric rate bills. Dates are to be determined.

By March 20, the panel will vote to advance bills to the full General Assembly.

No matter what lawmakers do – or don’t do – some of the fees customers are paying now will drop on their own. By then, we won’t be talking about bone-chilling cold, but sweltering heat.