Press Releases
04/27/2023
OCC Files Comprehensive Brief Rejecting United Illuminating's Rate Increase Application
(New Britain, CT) – Today, the Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC) filed a brief strongly opposing the electric distribution rate increase sought by United Illuminating (UI) in a case pending before the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). By stripping overinflated and unsupported costs from UI’s proposal, OCC has proposed major reductions that would decrease UI’s original proposal by over 50% in its first year. OCC anticipates other parties and intervenors will identify even more reductions through their briefing that OCC will likely support, in addition to those already identified in its initial brief.
“My team and I identified countless examples of unjustified costs, incomplete and poorly developed plans, and proposed capital expenditures that simply do not benefit customers,” said Consumer Counsel Coleman. “With aggressive but sound application of the evidence and law, we took a red pen to their proposal to protect ratepayers from inappropriate or unnecessary increases. In addition, we also proposed the implementation of new filing requirements for utility capital expenditures that will significantly improve regulatory oversight of utility spending going forward. If adopted, this change will benefit ratepayers for years to come -- providing PURA, OCC and other stakeholders a much more meaningful opportunity to review the Company’s intended investments, and to ensure that projects are executed efficiently and as originally authorized.”
The company’s original application, if granted, would result in the largest total distribution rate increase ever approved by the Authority for UI. Over the life of UI’s proposed 3-year rate plan, its customers would pay a total of $357.9 million more in distribution rates than they are already paying. OCC’s close review slashes the company’s initially proposed rate increase in its first year from $102.1 million to $49.2 million – a $52.9 million and more than 50% decrease.
In light of the forthcoming performance based regulatory model and the new documentation OCC is seeking from UI (and other utilities in future rate cases) to justify capital costs, OCC’s brief also recommends a single-year revenue requirement determination, rather than a multi-year rate plan. This will avoid locking in rates under an outdated regime and allow regulators a chance to evaluate the next rate plan in accordance with the performance-based regulatory model. OCC is hard at work seeking PURA’s adoption of a more consumer-centric system and the establishment a performance-based ratemaking structure where public utility companies are compensated based on meeting the performance expectations of PURA and their customers. Regulatory reform is needed to provide more avenues for keeping utility costs in check, and a single-year rate plan would make it possible to implement performance-based ratemaking with UI as early as 2025.
OCC is committed to working with PURA and other stakeholders to find ways to reduce Connecticut consumers’ electricity costs and continue to assist low-and-moderate-income customers with bills while ensuring that power service remains reliable, clean, and efficient as we modernize our electric grid.
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Contact:
Brooke Parker
Communications & Legislative Program Manager