CT Consumer Council Accuses Utilities Of 'Contradictory' Billing

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut Interim Consumer Counsel Claire E. Coleman announced Friday that she has filed a Petition with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority requesting an investigation of Connecticut’s two largest public utility companies — Eversource Energy (Eversource, Yankee Gas Services and Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut) and Avangrid, Inc. (The United Illuminating Company, Connecticut Natural Gas, and Southern Connecticut Gas).

She said the OCC obtained information from the utilities through "interrogatories" demonstrating that at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, "the utility companies sued consumers for nonpayment and sought and received wage garnishment in court."

Such actions are "contradictory to the intent of PURA’s multiple orders seeking to assist vulnerable and low-income consumers during the unprecedented financial challenges that Covid-19 inflicted upon the people of Connecticut," she said.

Coleman added, "I am deeply disturbed. OCC, PURA, the attorney general, and many other stakeholders have worked diligently over the course of the pandemic to ensure that consumers facing financial hardship receive the assistance they need to keep the lights on and the heat running. To learn that our utilities, and to the greatest extent United Illuminating, were pursuing judgments against consumers in court during the Covid-19 State of Emergency rather than directing them to the many assistance and relief programs available during this time is shocking. I welcome a full investigation into this matter."

In response to a petition from the Office of Attorney General, PURA opened Docket No. 20-03-15 at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic. That proceeding established an initial shut-off moratorium for essential utility services and has since established numerous relief programs and options for consumers who are facing financial hardship during the ongoing economic distress that Covid-19 has inflicted upon the people of Connecticut.

Representatives from Avangrid said:

"United Illuminating (UI), Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG) and Southern Connecticut Gas (SCG) – subsidiaries of AVANGRID, Inc. – were some of the first utility companies in the region to suspend turn-offs due to nonpayment at the start of the pandemic. As the pandemic continued, we helped customers take advantage of the numerous products, government assistance and services designed to help them pay for their energy use in a flexible and customer-friendly manner. This includes options such as interest-free pandemic payment plans, suspension of late payment charges, and referrals to assistance programs. Currently, AVANGRID is reviewing the petition submitted by the Consumer Counsel and will await further action from PURA."

Eversource spokeswoman Tricia Taskey Modifica released a statement early Friday evening:

"We just received the petition from the OCC and are reviewing it. We have and continue to empathize with customers struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic and have fully complied with the PURA's directives in this area. In addition to imposing a moratorium on service disconnections, out of an abundance of caution, we voluntarily suspended all new legal collections beginning March 13, 2020, which have not restarted. We look forward to fully participating in this review and providing additional information to PURA related to this matter."