Rep. Ackert Receives Legislative Achievement Award from AARP

COLUMBIA– The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) praised State Representative Tim Ackert’s (R-8) commitment to protecting energy consumers as they awarded him the AARP Legislative Achievement Award on Tuesday at the Columbia Senior Center.

“I am honored to be chosen by AARP for this award, but plenty of work still needs to be done for our seniors,” said Rep. Ackert. “We should be creating policies that benefit all residents, young and old, and that give every resident in Connecticut the opportunity to grow, raise a family and retire in this beautiful state. I consider AARP an essential partner in developing policies that will help get us there.”

AARP Advocacy Director John Erlingheuser applauded Rep. Ackert’s hard work as the ranking member of the Energy and Technology Committee to pass legislation last year that eliminated variable electric rate contracts.

“Rep. Ackert spearheaded legislation to eliminate bad-billing practices within the state. He set the tone nationally for regulated markets,” said Erlingheuser on behalf of AARP.

Rep. Ackert decided after receiving complaints from constituents about variable electric rates that something had to be done to address their concerns. Residents throughout the state were signing up for electric rate plans that promised an initial low-rate but eventually the plans would roll-over to a variable rate plan, which was unfair to the consumer. Ackert was able to pass a bill with bipartisan support, which made Connecticut the first state in the country to ban variable contracts.

“I am proud of the work we will able to accomplish last session when both parties came together to solve this problem affecting residential electric consumers,” added Rep. Ackert.

AARP Connecticut hosts nearly 600,000 members and advocates on behalf of residents age 50 and above.

(Pictured: Marie Hakmiller, State Rep. Tim Ackert, Jean Caron, and John Erlingheuser- AARP)

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