Regulators urged to reject water company rate hike

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is urging state utility regulators to reject a $21.8 million rate increase sought by the Clinton-based Connecticut Water Co.

Officials with the utility filed an application in October with the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority seeking to raise the cost of a gallon of water from 1.5 cents to 1.8 cents. Approval of the increase would raise Connecticut Water’s rates by approximately 18 percent, according to Tong.

The rate hike request came two years after Connecticut Water received approval for a rate increase in July 2021. Officials with the utility requested a $20 million rate hike in that case, but received a $5.2 million increase.

Tong said in a brief filed Monday that Connecticut consumers, especially those on fixed or limited incomes, “are simply unable to absorb any further increases in their cost of living.”

Officials with Connecticut Water issued a statement on Monday, which said in part that the utility “understands the responsibility to both its current customers and future generations to prudently invest in the infrastructure needed to provide clean drinking water.”

“While we make all efforts to drive down operational expenditures, our water systems in Connecticut are some of the oldest in the country and take significant investment to maintain and improve so that Connecticut residents can continue to depend on reliable water service,” the statement said, noting that the company and public officials “have a responsibility to Connecticut residents to balance the needs of all stakeholders and determine reasonable and prudent water rates.”

Tong noted to PURA commissioners that Connecticut Water is seeking a return on equity of 10.5 percent as part of its rate increase, which he said is substantially higher than the state’s other regulated utilities.

“The company has presented no reasonable explanation for why a relatively low risk operation such as a water utility should be awarded the highest authorized ROE of any of the state’s regulated public service companies,” Tong wrote in the brief.

Connecticut Water serves 107,000 customers in 60 towns.