Two Connecticut utilities filed an appeal Tuesday challenging the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority’s decision last month to block the sale of the Aquarion Water Company, in an effort to save the $2.4 billion deal.
The appeal was filed in New Britain Superior Court by Eversource, Aquarion’s owner, and the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, known as RWA, which is seeking to buy the water company and turn it into a quasi-public entity.
PURA rejected the sale last month after regulators raised concerns with the governance structure of a new quasi-public authority set up to oversee Aquarion and said that the sale “contravenes the public interest.”
In their complaint filed on Tuesday, however, attorneys for the two utilities pointed out that the structure of the newly-created Aquarion Water Authority was dictated by a law passed during a special session of the legislature in 2024 to facilitate the sale of the private utility. While the law also required PURA to review and approve the sale, the utilities argued that regulators had no authority to second-guess how lawmakers chose to structure the authority.
“This appeal is an opportunity to address legal aspects in a regulatory decision that praised AWA and RWA for their operational expertise, financial management, and customer service,” Aquarion President Lucy Teixeira and RWA Chief Financial Officer Rochelle Kowalski said in a joint statement following the filing of the lawsuit.
“The proposed sale to AWA is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shift ownership to a model that truly benefits all parties involved: residential customers, communities, and businesses for years to come and puts affordability and predictability at the forefront,” the statement continued.
A spokesperson for PURA did not respond to requests to comment on the appeal Wednesday.
Critics of the deal, including Attorney General William Tong, have argued that the sale would result in higher water rates for Aquarion’s roughly 250,000 customers, as well as a loss of sales tax revenues in dozens of towns where the company owns reservoirs, pipelines and other assets. (As part of the deal, Aquarion planned to sell off its assets New Hampshire and Massachusetts to the utility company Unitil.)
“Eversource is desperate to offload Aquarion after not getting the massive rate hike they wanted,” Tong said in a statement Tuesday. “They need to take no for an answer — no one wants this deal. PURA was right to reject this costly loser, and we are prepared to vigorously defend this decision on appeal.”
While officials at both Aquarion and RWA had pledged not to immediately increase rates as part of the deal, filings submitted to PURA projected that Aquarion’s customers would have seen annual rate increases of between 6.5% and 8.35% over the next decade under the new quasi-public authority.
After PURA announced its decision to block the sale last month, Eversource Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer John Moreira released a statement saying the company would seek a rate increase of between $60 million and $70 million for Aquarion customers sometime in 2026.
Rates for privately-owned utilities must be approved by PURA. In Aquarion’s last rate case prior to its proposed sale, regulators opted to cut the company’s rates by nearly 11%.
Since then, PURA has undergone a shakeup with its former chief, Marissa Gillett, stepping down in October. Gillett was replaced by interim Chair Thomas Wiehl along with two new commissioners and a third on the way.