Aquarion announces completion of ownership transation, closure of sale

The sale has closed for Aquarion, completing its ownership transition to the Southern Connecticut Water Authority, the company announced Tuesday.

The sale occurred months after Attorney General William Tong called for it to be paused, citing “math errors.”

In April, Tong and the consumer counsel said that the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) missed out on nearly $500 million in potential rate increases.

Aquarion, Eversource’s water company, was to be sold to the South Central Connecticut Water Authority back in November 2025. But a judge ordered PURA to reconsider, which led to another approval in March. Aquarion is the state’s largest water supplier, servicing hundreds of thousands of people across 60 municipalities.

Aquarion’s president, Lucy Teixeria, said that customers should continue to expect the same service.

According to Aquarion, its new governance structure allows the municipalities it serves to be represented by a Representative Policy Board.

“This milestone is ultimately about the future,” Teixeira said. “Water infrastructure is one of the most important public assets any community relies on. The Authority structure is designed to support responsible stewardship of that infrastructure for generations to come while maintaining the high standards of service our customers expect and deserve.”

Some Connecticut Republicans issued their dissent following the announcement.

State Senator and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Fazio said that the sale was “pushed by Gov. Ned Lamont” and that Fazio opposed the transaction because “it was done behind closed doors, rushed through the legislature, without a public hearing, and ignored serious concerns raised by municipal leaders and ratepayers across our state.

“For two years, leaders on both sides of the aisle have joined me in warning against this deal and higher water utility bills. Gov. Lamont ignored all of them and never answered for it. Now we are all going to pay,” Fazio said.

State Sens. Stephen Harding, Heather Somers, Eric Berthel, Jason Perillo, and Tony Hwang, all Republicans, issued a joint statement telling Connecticut to “brace yourself,” saying Lamont didn’t listen to Tong:

“Brace yourself, Connecticut: Brace yourself for a tsunami of unaffordable water bill rate increases, year after year after year. And to add insult to injury: These future water rate hikes won’t need approval from state government regulators anymore,” they said in part in the statement.