AG: Conn. Electricity Tax Could Cost Mass. $26M

Attorney General Martha Coakley is warning that a new tax in Connecticut could end up costing Massachusetts homeowners and other electricity customers an extra $26 million annually.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy recently signed off on a deal to tax electricity generators one quarter of one cent per kilowatt hour, or 25 cents per $100.

Coakley last month asked the head of ISO New England for an analysis about what impact the tax hike could have on Bay State consumers. The utility provided the analysis to Coakley using 2010 market data.

Coakley said that analysis showed customers in Massachusetts could shoulder about $26 million of the cost of that increase since the regional energy market is so interconnected.

As attorney general, Coakley is the official ratepayer advocate for Massachusetts consumers.