Since engaging in a well-funded bullying campaign to run the lead regulator at the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority out of town, Connecticut’s monopoly utility corporations are now on the prowl for more of our hard-earned money to pad their record high profits.

If we let these out-of-control bullying tactics continue, we will all pay the price. We need reforms now to ensure that service delivery and value for Connecticut residents is at the center of decision making, not undue influence by these corporations.

The bullying was in full view last year when Eversource and Avangrid successfully forced out PURA Chair Marissa Gillett with arguably the most aggressive smear campaign undertaken by corporations in Connecticut history. These monopoly utility companies did not respond well as Gillett implemented policies to protect utility customers and closely scrutinized their rate hike and bill increase proposals.

Since they ran out Gillett, Eversource and Avangrid have already reaped the benefits. In March, PURA caved to Eversource in a gas rate case. PURA also modified its draft decision giving Yankee Gas an additional $4 million and eliminating penalties that had been imposed on the utility for management and compliance issues. Also in March, PURA reconsidered a United Illuminating case, increasing the utility’s profits by $2 million, and fully erased the penalty for the company’s repeated failures to remediate contamination at English Station in New Haven.

The utilities flexed their influence in another rate case. WFSB recently reported another draft decision moved significantly in favor of Avangrid and against ratepayers following multiple communications between an executive at Avangrid and a PURA commissioner, now retired. The final decision on the PURA docket cost ratepayers millions of dollars more than the initial draft decision.

It would be illegal for their discussion to have included the pending docket. This reporting has been met with shocking silence by other policy makers in Connecticut. At a minimum there should be an investigation into this matter and the case should be reopened to be considered by the new PURA commissioners, especially since the only other commissioner that voted to overturn the draft was a lobbyist for Avangrid just before being appointed.

The utilities are also challenging laws aimed at providing relief for ratepayers. In 2025, Connecticut enacted a law that requires them to participate in the ISO New England regional transmission system, thereby cancelling a “bonus” incentive payment for voluntary participation. This would save ratepayers $4.5 million a year.  Yet, the utilities have continued to collect these incentive payments from ratepayers. 

Gov. Ned Lamont, the Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman, PURA and Attorney General Tong have called on FERC to end the utilities charging ratepayers for these fees. After these officials petitioned FERC, the utilities filed a lawsuit challenging the law they have been ignoring.

In March, Eversource backed out of three solar contracts selected by the state to provide clean and renewable electricity. The refusal to execute these contracts denies Connecticut ratepayers access to lower cost solar power, and is a thumb in the nose of the state.

In the latest rate case before PURA, Eversource is requesting a double digit rate increase that will result in rates rising by over a half a billion dollars. To make matters worse they have called for more than 300,000 documents to be withheld from public disclosure. Ratepayers cannot afford, nor should we allow, rate cases to be secreted away from the public, and decided under undue influence, bullying and threat of reprisal.

What can be done? There are several proposals on the table from key decision makers. These include:

• Regular review of monopoly status. This would mandate a process for utilities to reapply to maintain their monopoly status every 15 years. It would allow municipalities to choose another entity to deliver electricity.

• Granting the Consumer Counsel subpoena power. This will give this consumer advocate a powerful tool to ensure they have all the information they need to represent ratepayers before PURA..

In addition, we propose several important concrete next steps:

• PURA’s website is outdated and falls far short of the level of accessibility and transparency the public deserves. It should be redesigned to be intuitive, searchable, and genuinely consumer-friendly.

• All communications between PURA and regulated companies, including their representatives and lobbyists, should be publicly disclosed in a timely manner. The public should not have to file public records requests or navigate unnecessary barriers to understand how regulatory decisions are being made.

• End the revolving door. Ratepayers have not been well served by the cozy relationship between the utilities and government. We need legislation that will forbid legislators and executive branch staff from going to work for the utilities and PURA. 

Without action, the utilities will continue to bully their way to great profits that Connecticut cannot afford. These simple and common sense reforms will help restore trust in the process and save ratepayers significant money.

Tom Swan is the Executive Director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group.