Legislative Leaders Condemn Utility Company Efforts to Intimidate Public Officials
By Hugh McQuaid
January 10 @ 3:45 pm
Sen. Norm Needleman. Credit: Senate Democrats
Democratic leaders of the Connecticut State Senate denounced on Thursday recent efforts by state utility companies to silence and intimidate Sen. Norm Needleman, an Essex Democrat who co-chairs a legislative committee that oversees energy policy.
The statement from Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, followed a series of letters to Needleman from executives at Eversource Energy and United Illuminating’s parent company, Avangrid.
The legislative leaders expressed concern that the letters, which can be found here and here, were crafted to silence Needleman’s calls for stronger utility regulation amid an environment in which Connecticut ratepayers have been hit with significant spikes in their energy costs.
“Let’s be frank,” Looney and Duff said. “Connecticut utilities enjoyed 20 years of a virtually free and lightly regulated market, and during that time, state power costs spiked while emergency response faltered. Now that the focus is turning toward the best interests of ratepayers, and not exclusively shareholders, there’s a full-court press in place against any progress. It’s disappointing, and we hope that state residents are paying attention.”
The letters began last July, when Avangrid Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Kenna Hagan wrote to Needleman and accused the senator of defaming United Illuminating, when he stated that Connecticut utility companies were seeking the dismissal of Marissa Gillett, chair of the state’s utility regulatory agency.
Shortly after Needleman’s reelection in November, Steve Sullivan, Eversource’s president of Connecticut electric operations, sent the senator another letter, this one accusing Needleman of “bullying” the multi-billion corporation through campaign literature that focused on his efforts to reduce ratepayers’ energy bills. Sullivan’s letter suggested Eversource employees were afraid for their safety as a result of campaign mailers.
In late December, Eversource mailed another letter to Connecticut municipal leaders including Needleman, who serves as first selectman in his hometown of Essex. The letter indirectly sought to build municipal support for future rate increases by claiming that recent regulatory decisions would deter the company from making infrastructure investments and impact its ability to serve municipalities.
Needleman responded this month with an op-ed in the Connecticut Mirror as well as his own letter to his municipal colleagues, noting that Eversource had not applied for a distribution rate case decision from PURA since 2018, meaning the company had threatened to reduce its budget and quality of service based on its regulatory expectations rather than a decision from the agency.
“When you get scary sounding letters like the one earlier this week, ask yourself questions about the underlying motive and do a gut check,” Needleman wrote in response to the Eversource letter. “Despite their recent insinuations that the walls are caving in financially, Connecticut utilities are still seeing record earnings, an 82% increase in the dividend payouts to shareholders over the last 10 years and record salaries for top CEOs.”
On Thursday, Looney and Duff said they were troubled by the severity of the rhetoric directed at Needleman by the utility companies.
“Senator Needleman receiving these letters is unusual, to say the least, and is indicative of a continued campaign from state utilities disturbed by the prospect of tougher regulations on their business and greater demands for accountability,” Looney and Duff said. “Instead of working alongside legislators to shore up the stability and efficiency of the state’s electric grid, the utilities are universally opposing any effort that could pull funds away from their shareholders and bottom lines.”
