Press Releases
03/11/2024
Attorney General Tong Calls on PURA to Reject $21.8 Million Rate Hike for Connecticut Water Company
(Hartford, CT) – In a brief filed today with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, Attorney General William Tong called regulators to reject a $21.8 million rate hike sought by the Connecticut Water Company.CT Water filed an application with PURA in October seeking to raise the cost of a gallon of water from 1.5 cents to 1.8 cents. The move would raise rates by approximately 18 percent. The request comes two years after the company’s last rate increase approved in July 2021. In that case, CT Water requested a $20 million rate increase, and received a $5.2 million increase.
“Connecticut consumers—especially those on fixed or limited incomes—are simply unable to absorb any further increases in their cost of living. These customers are entitled to expect that the Authority and all the participants in this proceeding will work to ensure that the water utility rates approved will be no higher than absolutely necessary,” Attorney General Tong states in the brief.
Attorney General Tong’s brief identifies numerous areas in CT Water’s request that could be adjusted or denied to avoid increasing rates. Most notably, the company is seeking a return on equity of 10.5 percent—substantially higher than the state’s other regulated utilities.
“The Company has presented no reasonable explanation for why a relatively low risk operation such as a water utility should be awarded the highest authorized ROE of any of the State’s regulated public service companies,” Attorney General Tong states in the brief.
The brief further identifies numerous accounting, revenue and expense areas, as well as costs that should be covered largely by shareholders instead of ratepayers, such as Board of Director expenses, “investor relations” expenses, cash incentives and bonuses.
CT Water serves 107,000 customers in 60 towns, including: Ashford, Avon, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Bolton, Brooklyn, Burlington, Canton, Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Columbia, Coventry, Deep River, Durham East Granby, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield, Essex, Farmington, Griswold, Guilford, Haddam, Hebron, Killingly, Killingworth, Lebanon, Madison, Manchester, Mansfield, Marlborough, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Oxford, Plainfield, Plymouth, Portland, Prospect, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor, Southbury, Stafford, Stonington (Masons Island), Suffield, Thomaston, Thompson, Tolland, Vernon, Voluntown, Waterbury, Westbrook, Willington, Woodstock and Windsor Locks.
Assistant Attorney General John Wright, Paralegal Specialist Casey Rybak, and Deputy Associate Attorney General Michael Wertheimer, 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:
860-808-5318
attorney.general@ct.gov