New regulations under discussion could stabilize electric rates for CT customers
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Crews examine downed trees and power lines knocked down during Tropical Storm Isaias on Deep Valley Road in North Stamford, Conn. Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020.Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less
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Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority chair Marissa Gillett. Wednesday, September 9, 2020, in West Hartford, Conn.H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less
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The offices of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in New Britain, Conn., in September 2019.Alexander SouleShow MoreShow Less
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Connecticut’s regulators want to shift the power so customers pay for what they want from electric service instead of paying for what the utilities decide to provide.
Connecticut Officials Mull Utility Fines Over Storm Response
Connecticut regulators have criticized the state’s two largest electricity distributors and said they are considering fines over what they called the companies’ failures in their preparation and response last August to Tropical Storm Isaias, which left hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the dark for days.
Isaias knocked down scores of trees and utility wires, causing more than 740,000 outages at its peak and a total of more than 1.3 million outages to Eversource and United Illuminating customers. Many customers and local officials expressed anger and frustration at the companies’ power restoration efforts, which took more than a week in some places.
What will PURA s ruling mean for CT consumers? Here s what we know.
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New Eversource Energy CEO Joseph Nolan is photographed at the company s corporate office in Hartford on April 12, 2021.Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media
Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority ruled Wednesday that Eversource Energy did not meet certain acceptable performance standards in preparing for and responding to Tropical Storm Isaias in August 2020.
PURA members were also critical of the state’s other large electric distribution company, Orange-based United Illuminating.
Here’s what Wednesday’s ruling is likely to mean for consumers.
The possibility of lower, more equitable electric rates going forward
Arborist Tom Higgins works to take down a tree at American Legion Post 27 in Litchfield in 2020. Republican-American archives
HARTFORD – Connecticut regulators on Wednesday criticized the state’s two largest electricity distributors and said they are considering fines over what they called the companies’ failures in their preparation and response last August to Tropical Storm Isaias, which left hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the dark for days.
Isaias knocked down scores of trees and utility wires, causing more than 740,000 outages at its peak and a total of more than 1.3 million outages to Eversource and United Illuminating customers. Many customers and local officials expressed anger and frustration at the companies’ power restoration efforts, which took more than a week in some places.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public Radio
How many days were
you out of power last summer after Tropical Storm Isaias?
The outages last August impacted hundreds of thousands of residents. Some lasted more than a week.
This hour, we talk with Marissa Gillett, Chairman of PURA, Connecticut’s utility regulator. The agency investigated how the state’s two major electric companies dealt with the storm and issued a final decision.
What will it mean for consumers?
GUESTS:
Marissa Gillett - Chairman of Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA)
Cat Pastor contributed to this show.
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