The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
CEO: ‘Perfect’ power not possible
Eversource’s Jim Judge apologizes for stress on customers, not response; expects pay cut
Issuing a blanket apology to customers who suffered prolonged outages after Tropical Storm Isaias, Eversource CEO Jim Judge maintained Thursday the utility took all reasonable steps to prepare based on the best information it had available prior to the storm’s landfall in Connecticut in early August.
Judge fielded questions for more than five hours from members of the Energy and Technology Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly, responding to one state representative that he expects to take a cut in pay next year as one outcome of criticism from Connecticut customers.
Also appearing before the committee were Craig Hallstrom, Eversource president of regional operations, and Penni McLean Conner, chief customer officer. Hallstrom was on hand during the Connecticut restoration efforts to update media and officials, but Thursday represented Judge’s first public appearance, though he has met with Gov. Ned Lamont and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
In initial remarks during the Thursday hearing, Judge said Isaias damage to the Connecticut grid was topped only by the Hallow
een nor’easter in 2011, with Eversource needing 13 days to restore power fully after that storm. Eversource restored 90 percent of customers within four days of Isaias.
“I’m sorry for the stress and anxiety that customers and communities are feeling,” Judge said. “It’s heartbreaking in many ways in what people had to endure. I wish we could provide ‘perfect’ power, ... but it’s not possible.”
Late in the afternoon, Avangrid executive Tony Marone took his turn on United Illuminating’s response in its New Haven and Bridgeport-area territories. Marone indicated United Illuminating braced earlier for the possibility of a larger storm impact and was able to restore power more quickly, though Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim was critical of United Illuminating’s response in Connecticut’s largest city.
“We ... know that as an electric utility, we’re only as good as our last storm,” Marone said. “Part conservatism, maybe part luck — but we got it right in terms of planning for the event that we ended up getting.”
Judge, meanwhile, in response to a question from state Rep. Bill Buckbee, R-New Milford, indicated he expects to take a cut in his compensation next year as a result of multiple factors, including the outcry in Connecticut over its Isaias response and the pandemic’s impact on the economy and customers who lost jobs or otherwise saw their income diminished.
Eversource estimated Judge’s compensation at nearly $20 million last year, including the value of pension benefits.
“I know how well I’m paid,” Judge said. “I also know the compensation is in line with CEOs of similar utilities.”
In advance of the hearing, Eversource issued a defense of its preparations and response undersigned by the three executives.
According to the letter, the electric company first anticipated up to 10,000 points of failure in Connecticut impacting as many as 380,000 customers — it has 1.2 million customers statewide. Eversource then invoked “mutual aid” pacts to line up an extra 120 crews from Canada in addition to 923 crews it had on hand.
On Aug. 4, the day the storm hit, Eversource reassessed its damage estimates to 25,000 points of failure impacting up to 650,000 customers. Eversource’s final tally was 21,669 points of failure, with the company having 2,555 line crews working at the peak of restoration efforts, and nearly 800 tree crews.
In the letter, Judge did not state whether Eversource plans to issue restitution to customers who lost power for extended periods. After the storm, Con Edison created a restitution program for New York customers who lost power for two days or more, at up to $235 to cover the cost of spoiled food and up to $205 more if customers can provide receipts or other evidence of any lost provisions beyond that amount.
Con Edison will also kick in extra for any refrigerated prescription medications needing to be replaced.
Asked by state Rep. David Arconti, D-Danbury, on Thursday whether Eversource would follow suit, Judge made no commitment, arguing 90 percent of utilities nationally do not have such reimbursement programs.
“We cannot insure against any outages when these large-scale storms hit,” stated Eversource spokesperson Caroline Pretyman in response to an earlier Thursday query. “That said, this is something that we are looking at and as we work through the review process, we are looking forward to figuring out how or whether such a program would factor in.”
Connecticut legislators said they understood the challenges faced by Eversource and Avangrid, parent company of United Illuminating, after Isaias, but held to the stance the company’s preparations were insufficient.
“The damage was fast and devastating,” Hallstrom said Thursday in his own initial comments. “We quickly amassed an army of storm resources . ... We did this while practicing pandemic safety protocols.”
In response to a question from Arconti, Judge said Eversource reliability has improved “dramatically” as measured by outage frequency and duration in 2019 compared to eight years ago. Judge said he would like the state and municipalities to contribute more to tree and branch removal.
“A stronger pole — a new pole — is no match for a two-ton oak tree if it falls on it,” Judge said. “Weather continues to be severe — I wish I could say this event would not occur again, but the tree damage was extensive.”
Hallstrom said the company’s steps since the 2012 storm Sandy have included utility pole cross arms made of composite materials, thicker lines and improved fastenings.
Judge said the company has considered putting more lines underground, but that those conduits are not impervious to the threat of flooding during storms, and that underground lines are more difficult to fix when failures occur. Marone said United Illuminating’s existing programs to bury lines paid off with fewer outages, and warned of the perils of any storm like Hurricane Laura this week.
“If we had a storm that was pushing ... near 100 miles-per-hour winds in this area, the devastation would be really significant based on the tree canopy that we have,” Marone said. “It wouldn’t be a restoration — it would be more of a rebuilding of the system.”
Both Judge and Marone addressed the question of high bills customers have received this summer, with Judge reiterating prior company comments that the bills reflect more people working from home during a summer heat wave. He added he would like to see an improvement in bills to better explain the breakdown of each kilowatt hour of power they pay for, describing the current bill as “mumbo jumbo” in helping customers understand what they are paying for.