NEW BRITAIN, CT – Today, Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman applauded the Connecticut Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the Superior Court’s prior decision in GennConn Energy, LLC vs. PURA, in which the Authority disallowed a total of $4.135 million of GenConn’s requested revenue increase. When the company sought judicial review of PURA’s decision, the OCC intervened in March of 2021 to support the Authority’s decision, as it shields electric ratepayers from significant rate increases that would have unjustly funded the company’s capital costs. The Superior Court ruled in favor of PURA’s decision in January of 2022, which the company’s appealed. Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court affirms the lower court’s findings and adopts several of the arguments OCC made on behalf of consumers.
“Connecticut law clearly states that electric rates must not be higher than is just and reasonable, cannot be more than sufficient to balance a company’s costs and profits with the public interest, and must reflect prudent and efficient management by the company,” said Consumer Counsel Coleman. “Today’s decision applies those important legal standards and protects PURA’s ability to appropriately align a company’s costs with the public interest. PURA must be able to consider the interests of ratepayers in their decision making, and, when it determines that a company is collecting more money than it needs from customers, PURA must adjust the costs customers are expected to pay. At a time when energy costs are at the forefront of the minds of all consumers, today’s decision affirming PURA’s authority to shield customers from excess recoveries is incredibly important.”
The Supreme Court decision affirmed the following, which the OCC argued in support of during the proceeding:
- PURA has the authority to analyze each rate application on its own merits, and is not strictly limited to past practices or decisions;
- PURA can analyze whether costs are not only prudently incurred, but also whether it is appropriate for a company to collect such costs from ratepayers;
- PURA’s disallowance of particular costs does not constitute an illegal deprivation of a company’s profits. PURA has the authority to disallow the recovery of inappropriate costs – thereby reducing a company’s overall allowed revenue - so long as PURA allows companies to earn a reasonable return on the investments that adhere to legal parameters;
- The Court explicitly agreed with OCC’s argument that PURA must retain the “flexibility” necessary to resolve issues where they arise, and must be allowed to evaluate rate applications “in light of the entire universe of facts and circumstances available.”
More information and today’s Supreme Court decision can be found here, and OCC’s supporting brief can be found here.
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CONTACT:
Brooke Parker
Communications & Legislative Program Manager
brooke.parker@ct.gov
About the Office: The Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC) is an independent state agency that represents the interests of consumers of Connecticut’s electric, natural gas, telecommunications, and private water companies before PURA, federal regulatory agencies, the legislature and courts. OCC’s team of attorneys, accountants, financial and policy analysts appear before PURA to argue for the most reasonable rates while expecting the best utility service possible for all customers.