Marissa Gillett, Chair of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, delivered a blunt message to Eversource in the wake of Tropical Storm Isaias: “Utilities are in the business of delivering reliable service, and the public should know that I’m not interested in their excuses.” But part of the problem is that Eversource has been tasked with juggling two additional lines of business: procuring electricity for default electricity customers and providing them with a variety of energy products and services. We’d be better off taking those jobs away from the utility and limiting their monopoly to maintaining the poles, wires, and transformers that we all depend on.
