CT Seeks Penalties, Credits For Eversource's Isaias Response

CONNECTICUT — State Attorney General William Tong has called upon the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to levy penalties upon power utility Eversource for its response in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaias.

Tong called for the fines, as well as credits for Eversource customers, in a brief before PURA argued on Friday. PURA is the state's principal regulator and the legal forum to investigate and pursue such claims against state utilities.

"The evidence in this proceeding overwhelmingly demonstrates that Eversource yet again failed its Connecticut consumers in its major storm response," Tong said in the brief.

"PURA should find that Eversource was imprudent in its storm preparation and response—most notably for its failure to protect public safety and communicate effectively. In the next phase of this proceeding, PURA should levy meaningful penalties against Eversource for these failures."

According to the brief:

• A wastewater treatment plant was left without power for nearly a week.
• A police station was without power for at least six days.
• A dead person was left in a car for five hours, trapped by a tree tangled in electric wires.
• A family dog was electrocuted by a live downed wire four days after the storm struck.
• Vulnerable residents were trapped in their homes without power.
• Those dependent on wells did not have running water.

The brief also critiques Eversource's "overloaded" communications, finding fault with the response from the utility's texting platform, mobile app, website, and call center. Eversource ratepayers paid for $23.7 million in upgrades to communications systems that showed marginal, if any, return on investment during Isaias, according to Tong.

The documents reference a state investigation that revealed Eversource failed to appropriately prioritize public safety when deploying their cleanup crews, and kept municipal leaders in the dark about their progress.

The state is looking a little more kindly upon United Illuminating. That power utility's performance during Isaias was "not flawless," the brief states, but the company "acknowledged its obligations as a public service company and accepted responsibility for any setbacks and challenges in storm response."

The formal criticism comes after PURA agreed to open a contested case and prudence review—legal proceedings that enable the Attorney General to make claims on behalf of ratepayers and the state, to seek fines penalties and injunctive relief, and to oppose the utilities' requests for profits and reimbursement of storm-related costs.

Should PURA agree and find the Eversource response to be "imprudent," there will be another proceeding to determine penalties. The AG said that some of the penalties he wants PURA to levy include credits to ratepayers for "investments in communications systems that failed to deliver." Tong again called upon Eversource shareholders to refund consumers for their spoiled food and medications, lost during the extended power outage following Isaias.