CT Attorney General Tong wants Aquarion deal reconsidered after ‘massive math error'

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said the sale of Aquarion needs to be reconsidered following a ‘massive math error.’

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.

But now, Tong and Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman said PURA missed out on just under $500 million in additional rate increases needed to pay for the sale. PURA was reviewing a compressed spreadsheet that omitted information about rate hikes after 2035, according to Tong.

That number could add an estimated $19 million a year over 25 years to customers’ water bills.

“These aren’t new numbers; this is a bombshell,” Tong said on Wednesday. “A deal breaker.”

This will be the third time PURA would have to take another look at Eversource’s plan to sell off Aquarion.

“$500 million more in rate increases pushes it off the knife’s edge and makes it clear this deal is terrible for rate payers,” Tong said.

The top Republican in Connecticut’s House of Representatives agrees that PURA should take another look, but said the sale is in the best interest of consumers.

“At this point, I question anything that the attorney general really has to say about this deal,” said Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-Minority Leader). “He’s cried wolf about this deal. He’s been against this deal since day one, and he’ll clearly do everything in his power to stop it.”

Other lawmakers oppose the sale and continue to push for legislation that would maintain PURA’s authority over rates, even if Aquarion becomes quasi-public.

“The same oversight that we require for any natural monopoly in almost all gases, in electricity, in water, in many utilities,” said Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-Greenwich).

NBC Connecticut has not heard from PURA on when they may take up the petition, nor has it received a response from Eversource and Aquarion.

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