Press Releases
02/16/2023
Attorney General Tong Responds to PURA's Draft Decision Rejecting Aquarion's Requested $36 Million Rate Hike
(Hartford, CT) -- Attorney General William Tong responded today to a draft decision by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) rejecting Eversource-owned Aquarion’s $36 million rate hike.
The requested rate hike would have increased water rates by more than 30 percent over three years for 236,000 Aquarion customers across 72 cities and towns in Connecticut. PURA’s draft decision instead orders a rate decrease of 0.192 percent ($379,365) for Connecticut customers.
“Connecticut consumers have borne the burden of relentless rate increases for years now. This, finally, is a massive victory for Connecticut ratepayers,” Attorney General Tong said. “When Aquarion first issued its plan, I knew Connecticut consumers – especially those on fixed or limited incomes – simply couldn’t be asked to shoulder yet another costly hit to their finances, which is why I fought this proposal from the start. I thank PURA for rejecting Aquarion’s proposed hike and for protecting Connecticut families and consumers from having to pay for an excessive and unwarranted hike. I strongly urge PURA to hold firm in its conclusion as it works toward issuing a final decision on this matter in mid-March.”
In a brief filed in January, Attorney General Tong not only urged PURA to reject the rate increase, but also the excessive 10.35 percent return on equity for its shareholders. In today’s draft decision, PURA reduced that profit to 8.70 percent, which will save millions of dollars for ratepayers. PURA also accepted the Office of the Attorney General’s recommendation which sets one revenue requirement for all three years of the plan rather than Aquarion’s proposed multi-year rate plan, which would have included more rate increases in years two and three.
Read the full brief here.
Assistant Attorneys General John Wright, Lauren Bidra, and Michael Wertheimer, Deputy Associate Attorney General & Chief of the Consumer Protection Section assisted the Attorney General in this matter.
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Media Contact:
Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov
Consumer Inquiries:
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