Eversource Energy and United Illuminating are facing potential fines for what regulators say was a poor response to Tropic Storm Isaias, which left hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents without power last summer.

Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority unanimously adopted a ruling on Wednesday finding that Eversource failed to comply with performance standards and manage its response to the storm “prudently and efficiently.” In addition, the ruling found that while UI’s response was “underwhelming,” it was better than that of Eversource.

Isaias hit Connecticut on Aug. 4, 2020, damaging power lines, utility poles and transformers, and blocking roads with debris, according to the ruling. During the storm, 50% of Eversource customers and 33% of UI customers lost power. It took nine days to restore power to all customers.

PURA Commissioner Michael Caron expressed respect for utility employees who restored power after the storm, but he was critical of the utilities themselves during PURA’s regular meeting.

The companies are “well run,” but when it comes to “showtime, [they] cower in the corner,” he said. “Worse, decade after decade it is always the same usual suspects: lack of preparedness, lack of communication, lack of coordination and a lack of timely restoration.”

PURA’s ruling criticized the companies for not understanding their obligations as public service providers.

“Our public utilities, and Eversource in particular, have failed us and continue to fail us by putting shareholders above the rights and good of the citizens of Connecticut,” the ruling said, adding that the companies likely will appeal the decision, “given the financial consequences at stake.”

The ruling requires Eversource and UI to reduce their rates of return on equity by 0.9% and 0.15%, respectively. That measure “is meant to align the electric distribution companies’ management performance in future storm response efforts with their financial performance,” the ruling said.

Eversource spokesperson Tricia Taskey Modifica told NetZero Insider that the company stands by its response to the storm and credits its employees’ skill and dedication to restoring power as quickly as possible.

“There are many areas for improvement that we are already addressing, and we continue to work in good faith with our communities, customers and regulators to improve our performance,” she said. PURA’s “decision deserves careful consideration and review, and we are committed to moving forward in the best interest of our customers.”

UI is “disappointed” that PURA’s ruling imposes a penalty on the company despite the finding that “it generally met the standards of acceptable performance and conducted itself prudently and efficiently,” spokesperson Edward Crowder told NetZero Insider.

The company, however, remains mindful of the “deficiencies cited by PURA,” and it’s “well aware of the difficulties that extended outages cause for our customers,” he said. But UI believes that the facts show that the company “faithfully” followed its emergency plan.

“As we consider our next steps, we will continue to use what we learned during Isaias and from PURA’s investigation to serve our valued customers, and to improve our readiness for and response to future extreme weather events.”

Eversource needs to regain the trust of the state and its citizens, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement in response to PURA’s ruling.

“Their failed response to Isaias put lives in danger and left families in the dark and disconnected during a deadly pandemic,” Tong said. “PURA has rightly opened the door to strong penalties and corrective action, and we will continue to advocate for full accountability at every step of this process.”

PURA Findings

After an eight-month investigation into what happened leading up to and following Isaias, PURA determined that Eversource did not satisfy performance standards for:

• managing its municipal liaison program;
• executing its responsibilities to clear blocked roads;
• communicating critical information to its customers; and
• meeting its obligation to secure adequate resources in a timely manner.

In addition, PURA determined that UI did not meet all of its obligations to clear blocked roads and ensure public safety.

The ruling requires both utilities to make enhancements to their emergency response plans and undergo management audits that will be conducted by a third-party this summer.

Recognizing the risk of increasing frequency and severity of storms because of climate change, PURA directed the utilities to review options for “climate change-related storm insurance policies.”

PURA opened a second phase of the investigation proceedings to consider civil penalties for instances of noncompliance identified in the ruling (Docket No. 20-08-03RE01). It also said it may reject any future requests for storm cost recovery from the companies.