PURA rejects $2.4 billion Eversource plan to sell Aquarion Water
(WFSB) — State regulators unanimously rejected a controversial $2.4 billion plan for Eversource to sell Aquarion Water to the Regional Water Authority, citing concerns about managerial responsibility and potential rate increases for customers.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority voted Wednesday against the sale of Connecticut’s largest water utility, which serves approximately 250,000 customers in 59 towns, mostly in Fairfield County.
“As detailed in the decision, although the standards were met in a number of areas, with regard to the areas of managerial responsibility and suitability, the application failed,” said Holly Cheeseman, PURA commissioner.
The proposed deal faced widespread opposition from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, as well as local leaders who raised concerns about the financial impact on customers.
Francis Pickering of the Western Connecticut Council of Governments said the Regional Water Authority would assume massive debt without paying for it directly.
“In this case, RWA is assuming a massive loan essentially to take on Aquarion, but they are not paying for it. They are not taking on the debt. They are putting that onto the backs of rate payers and the property taxpayers,” Pickering said.
The sale would have created a new quasi-public entity with rates controlled by a board without oversight from public regulators. State lawmakers said the deal could have created $800 million in debt that would be passed on to customers, potentially doubling water bills.
State Attorney General William Tong praised PURA’s decision and had previously called the deal “atrocious.”
“This deal was a costly loser for Connecticut families, and PURA was right to reject it,” Tong said in a statement. “Eversource desperately wanted to offload Aquarion, and they concocted this maneuver to extract as much cash as possible.”
Governor Ned Lamont expressed support for PURA’s concerns about the deal’s impact on ratepayers.
“If I was PURA, I would be very concerned about what’s going to get passed on to the ratepayers and what that does to my water bills,” Lamont said.
Last year, lawmakers passed legislation in a special session to allow the Regional Water Authority to bid on Aquarion. However, the special act proved difficult for PURA to implement.
Eversource responded to the rejection, saying “The special act approved by legislators in 2024 indicated that the state was interested in an expanded non-profit model. However, once tested, that same special act proved difficult to overcome for PURA to move away from an investor-owned model.”
PURA solicited public comment on the proposal, and a majority of those who spoke opposed the deal. Eversource can appeal PURA’s decision.
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