Gov. Ned Lamont urged Connecticut lawmakers to focus on the high cost of living in his State of the State speech on Wednesday. Lamont’s address kicked off the 2025 General Assembly session.

One key battle will be how to lower high electric rates.

Lamont can read the room – and the latest election results. In his State of the State address, the governor said voters want relief from the high cost of living.

“Much of what we do in state government provides just enough to help you get by, but getting by is not enough,” he told lawmakers. “We are also here to help you get ahead.”

At the top of that list? High electric bills.

“Everyone was mad as hell looking at their bills following the hottest July in recorded history,” Lamont said. “I can see why.”

But Lamont warned lawmakers against making purely “cosmetic” changes that won’t fix the problem. Instead, he said Connecticut needs more electric supply.

“Especially low carbon supply – starting with our investment in Revolution Wind, which is under construction right now, more commercial solar from Maine,” Lamont said. “And don’t forget hydro from Canada, our 51st state.”

The reference was a joking nod to President-elect Donald Trump, who suggested annexing Greenland and Canada earlier this week.

Republicans are happy Lamont focused on electric rates.

“I think we’re on the same page on a lot of it,” said state Rep. Vin Candelora (R-North Branford), the Connecticut House GOP leader. “We need more nuclear. We need to look at gas; we need to look at alternative sources.”

But conservative lawmakers don’t think Lamont’s proposal will actually save customers money.

“Wind energy is coming in at four times the market rate as it is for other sources of energy,” said Senate GOP leader Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield). “So if he thinks that he’s going to reduce energy rates by procuring more wind energy, you’re just not.”

Instead, Republicans – and even some Democrats – want to repeal the “public benefits” portion of customers’ bills. Those spiked dramatically last summer.

But most of last July's increase was connected to the Millstone Nuclear Plant in Waterford, which supplies more than a third of Connecticut's energy. Removing the other charges would only shave a few dollars off customers’ bills.

“The Republican plan last year was really about saving $1.50 per month for ratepayers,” said state Sen. Bob Duff (D-Norwalk), the top Democrat in the state Senate. “Electricity prices are way too high, but we’ve got to find solutions that are actually going to make a difference for the people of the state of Connecticut.”

BUDGET BATTLE AHEAD

Beyond your power bill, expect big budget battles this session.

With so many families struggling to make ends meet, some Democrats want to expand the safety net – and they want to pay for it by loosening the state’s strict spending caps.

“They’ll be modified,” said Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven). “We hear the Trump administration may be cutting federal funding to states in a whole lot of areas. The biggest one would be Medicaid.”

But Republicans – and Lamont, a moderate Democrat – think the “fiscal guardrails” should remain untouched.

“We have broken the bad habits of the past when we habitually put more and more costs on the taxpayers’ credit card for our children to pay down,” Lamont warned lawmakers. “By paying down these legacy costs, we have made state employee pensions more secure and we have freed up hundreds of millions of dollars in our budget to expand access to affordable childcare, affordable healthcare, and expanded education opportunities.”

Lamont also urged lawmakers to create more affordable housing, address falling gas taxes and rising spending at Connecticut State Colleges and Universities.

But the governor was short on policy specifics Wednesday, disappointing some lawmakers. For more details, they will have to wait for Lamont’s two year budget proposal on Feb. 5.

“He's on the 50-yard line. He had an opportunity to try to score a touchdown today, and I think he really punted everything to the Legislature,” Candelora said.

Hovering over the session is another big unknown: what funding cuts the Trump administration could make.

"Over the next month or two, we should have more insights into how the changing relationship with the new administration will affect our budget and our people," Lamont said.

Before the State of the State speech, state Rep. Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) was elected to a rare third term as Connecticut House Speaker.

The legislative session runs until June 4.