Two Republican lawmakers in Connecticut have filed legislation seeking to undo recent statutory changes that paved the way for the sale of Eversource subsidiary, Aquarion Water Company. Eversource said earlier this week that it reached a deal to sell the water utility in a deal worth $2.4 billion.
The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 1144, would repeal sections of a law passed in special session last June that allowed the Bridgeport-based Aquarion to be sold to a newly-formed affiliate of the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority. This session’s bill was introduced on Jan. 23, four days before Eversource announced the proposed Aquarion sale in a press release.
The two Fairfield County lawmakers who introduced this year’s bill — Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, and Rep. Tracy Marra, R-Darien — said they were concerned a change in ownership would make water bills more costly for their constituents. (S.B. 1144 was first reported on by CT Insider.)
As a private company, Aquarion’s rates have been regulated by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. But if it’s sold to the Regional Water Authority, which is a quasi-public nonprofit, rates would be subject to approval by a board of locally-appointed members.
“Not only am I concerned that the outcome for consumers and higher rates will be bad, but the process was bad for doing this,” Fazio said. In a statement earlier this week, Fazio lamented that rate increases in western parts of the state would go “unchecked” by regulators.
According to data from the Office of Consumer Counsel, the average monthly water bill for customers of the Regional Water Authority, also known as RWA, is $64.66. For Aquarion customers, the average monthly bill is $44.71.
Aquarion serves nearly 250,000 customers in western Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. RWA has approximately 120,000 customers in Greater New Haven.
A spokesperson for Eversource referred a request for comment Thursday to RWA, which in turn released a statement saying the utility is “aware of the proposed bill in committee and are monitoring.”
Marra, who co-sponsored the legislation with Fazio, said Thursday that she didn’t believe the bill could be applied retroactively to block the proposed sale. “The only way this bill could have helped is if it was passed and signed before,” the sale, Marra said.
But the sale is still subject to review and approval by PURA. Fazio said he believes there is still time to stop the sale from going through.
Legal authority for the proposed sale came about as a result of language that was inserted into a wide-ranging special session bill last June — catching some lawmakers by surprise. The bill, which contained several other unrelated provisions, passed with mostly Democratic support. In the House, both Democrats and Republicans crossed party lines in the final vote — including Marra, who voted ‘yes.’
House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said there was a desire at the time to see Aquarion operate as an entity whose rates are set by a board composed mostly of locally-appointed members, answerable to local officials — as opposed to a private, for-profit company regularly engaging back-and-forth with state regulators on rates.
The private utilities have a contentious relationship with PURA. In 2023 regulators rejected Aquarion’s request for a rate increase, and instead ordered the utility to lower water rates by approximately $67 a year.
Last week, Eversource and several other utilities sued PURA, contending the chairwoman has too much autonomy over cases. Company representatives also testified to the legislature this week in opposition to a bill that would reduce the number of commissioners on the authority.
Ritter said there is little desire in the House to walk back the legislative changes made last year. “People can disagree with what the right option is,” Ritter said. “But there are a lot of people, Republicans and Democrats, who feel like it is better to have it in the hands of a quasi-public agency.”
While Fazio said it could be “very difficult to change” that law, he said dissatisfaction with the sale has been spreading among lawmakers from both parties within Aquarion’s service area.
Fazio and Marra’s bill was referred to the Committee on Planning and Development, where it has yet to receive a public hearing.