Lawmakers react to report on Eversource’s Isaias response
Connecticut lawmakers on Saturday said Eversource will held accountable, after a draft decision from the state’s public utility authority sharply criticized the state’s largest electrical provider for its response to Tropical Storm Isaias last August.
“This is the beginning — and only the beginning — of accountability.”—State Rep. Matt Blumenthal (D-147) promised in a tweet about the draft decision.
“We empower regulatory bodies like PURA for this exact purpose: to punish public utilities for dangerous and unsafe performance,” state Sen. Will Haskell (D-26) said in a tweet. “Eversource should hear the voices of regulators, state officials, and customers and place them above their shareholders.”
Tropical Storm Isaias swept over Connecticut the afternoon of Aug. 4 last year with rain and sustained winds that brought tornado warnings to some parts of the state. The storm uprooted and downed trees and limbs that cut power for up to 800,000 utility customers at the peak.
In the 111 page document released late Friday evening, the state’s Public Utility Regulatory
Authority concluded Eversource’s preparations and response to the storm were inadequate, and said it “will consider fines and penalties” against the utility under state law.
The draft decision points to failures in the utility company’s communications systems and its “coordination and communications with towns through its liaison program.” It also highlights deficiencies in Eversource’s “Make Safe” operations, where crews of line workers shut off power to downed lines so damage can safely be cleared.
“When a road is blocked and there are trees and wires down, we can’t remove the trees until Eversource has checked and removed the lines,” New Fairfield First Selectman Pat Del Monaco said in a phone interview.
While she said she has not yet read the full draft decision, she said it addressed the two biggest issues experienced by municipal leaders in the wake of the storm— lack of communication from Eversource, and a lack of make
“We empower regulatory bodies like PURA for this exact purpose: to punish public utilities for dangerous and unsafe performance. Eversource should hear the voices of regulators, state officials, and customers and place them above their shareholders.”
State Sen. Will Haskell
safe crews.
That often left local leaders in the dark – literally in the case of Newtown First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, who lost power at his home – without clear information to provide residents on where or when crews were coming to clear roads or restore power.
Rosenthal said Saturday he is “very pleased with the way PURA handled the matter and the draft opinion that they issued.”
“It’s not over yet, we’ll have to see what kind of fines, penalties, are levied against Eversource,” he said, echoing Haskell’s statement that the public utility should be responsible to residents rather than shareholders.
“Time will certainly tell—there’s no question in terms of the language PURA used in that report,” Rosenthal added. “Doesn’t sound to me like they’re messing around.”
Like the New Fairfield First Selectman, Rosenthal described communication issues and a lack of make safe crews as the biggest problems in the storm’s wake. Eversource’s
“So far it looks like PURA has heard the municipalities concerns, particularly about the Make Safe crews,” Del Monaco said.