Ten dollars will buy you lunch – but you might need to order off the value menu.

That's how much money electric customers could save starting next month after a key vote at the State Bond Commission on Friday.

The savings may not be stunning, but supporters said it's a start.

"Ayes have it."

With those three words from Gov. Ned Lamont, bond commissioners voted to borrow $155 million to lower electric rates.

"I know how upset everybody is with electric rates," Lamont told reporters. "We didn't make a big difference, but we made a difference."

It's all part of legislation passed this year to lower the Public Benefits portion of your bill. That section pays for hardship customers who get behind (which skyrocketed during the COVID pandemic shut-off ban) and energy efficiency programs.

The new law cut back incentives for electric vehicle chargers and moved the rest of the EV program, as well as hardship assistance for customers, to long-term state borrowing.

As early as the September billing cycle, customers could $5-10 per month, according to Connecticut Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman.

"That's a conservative estimate," she said. "And because it depends on the type of customer you are – residential, commercial, which utility provider you have – there is a range. And some will go above that $12 or $13 a month."

Customers aren't exactly wowed by the savings.

"They're going to cut it for $15 for customers? I think they can do better than that," said Giuseppe Conte, of Norwalk.

"Save anything is better than nothing," added Ted Coppola, of Norwalk.

If you're looking for deeper savings, you might be waiting awhile.

Electricity is so expensive because supply is limited. New York state has blocked new natural gas pipelines coming into the state, although New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is reportedly in talks with the Trump administration to allow more capacity.

In the meantime, a new offshore wind project is expected to come online next year. That could lower rates, but wind power is also expensive to generate.

Longer-term, the state hopes to import hydroelectric power from Canada and expand nuclear capacity at Dominion's Millstone power plant. But both could be a decade away.

Republicans argued that customers need relief now. They want to scrap the Public Benefits charge altogether.

"Getting a lot of those items into the general fund where we can debate them. We can have a public hearing, and we can vote on them as part of our budget," said state Rep. Joe Polletta (R-Watertown). "Ratepayers – the only thing we should be paying is electricity. We should not be paying for all these other charges that are built in."

Even this small relief may not last long. Public Benefits charges could go back up next year. On Aug. 13, the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority will vote on new incentives to expand EV chargers for heavy trucks.

"PURA, right now, is reviewing two proposals that's going to add close to a billion dollars on to the Public Benefits charge," said House GOP leader Vin Candelora (R-North Branford).

Environmental groups said the benefits far outweigh the cost.

"Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, I think, are in the realm of 6% of Connecticut's on-road vehicles. But then, they contribute 40% of our emissions," said Kevin Moss, the Connecticut Green Bank's senior manager for Transportation.

The rate reduction has one more step before it formally kicks-in. PURA must approve it at the Aug. 13 meeting.

Lamont said the state will likely borrow another $155 million next year to continue the savings.