Politics & Government

Spokesman: Malloy Did Not Break $42M Promise to Millstone

Malloy Spokesman Andrew Doba said Thursday the Connecticut governor never promised to sunset a $42 million tax on Millstone in July, which is contrary to what Dominion officials have said.

 

In a case of he-said she-said, Dominion claims that Gov. Dannel Malloy promised to end a $42 million tax on Millstone in July, where a Malloy spokesman said Thursday that isn’t true.

Thursday night, after a town hall meeting by Malloy, Patch interviewed Malloy spokesman Andrew Doba. Doba said Malloy never promised to sunset a $42 million tax on Millstone Power Station, which contradicts statements from Millstone spokesmen.

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“I can tell you that Governor Malloy never broke his promise,” he said. “I’m telling you that a two-year tax is a two-year tax and extending that tax is well within the legislature to do so.”

In 2011, facing a multi-billion dollar budget, Malloy put a $2.50 per megawatt production tax on all electricity produced in Connecticut, with the exception of renewable energy like solar and wind. That tax cost Millstone $42 million a year, or $84 million in the past two years.

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Millstone spokesman Ken Holt said in previous interviews that Malloy promised to sunset that tax in July of 2013 and in return Millstone would not pass that tax onto ratepayers. Holt and other Dominion employees discussed that promise publicly over the past two years, saying Malloy promised them it would sunset in July of 2013.

Doba told Patch several times that “that was not true.” He said Malloy never promised Millstone he would sunset that tax.

“I can tell you that Governor Malloy never broke his promise,” Doba reiterated.

Patch had reached out to Doba for comment, both via phone and email, and he had previously not responded. Doba said he didn’t respond because he thought Patch’s questions in the email made it “clear what side (Patch) was pushing” (the email is attached to this article if you want to make up your own mind).

Patch asked if this tax would raise electricity rates. Doba said the tax has existed for the past two years and energy rates are down 12 percent and questioned how “you can do that math.”

We responded that Millstone said they didn’t pass the tax onto customers for the past two years with the promise that it would sunset in July. If the tax is continued, Millstone said it would now pass that tax on. When presented with that information, Doba said he would get back to us with an answer to our question.

Additionally, we asked why Malloy didn’t reach out to Dominion before proposing this tax, considering that Dominion officials had said publicly that they were promised it would be sunset. Doba said the tax is just a proposal and there is time to deal with it in the state legislature.

“The budget is a proposal,” he said. “Reaching out beforehand, reaching out during the session, it is like six in one hand, half-dozen in another.”

 


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