Eversource wants to offload Aquarion to a new quasi-public entity overseen by the New Haven-based Regional Water Authority. State Attorney General Tong said that it’ll lead to rate hikes and price gouging.
“This deal stinks," Tong said. "And the state opposes this deal because ratepayers are going to get crushed. People in our towns and cities that are served by Aquarion are getting hurt right now, and they’re barely able to put food on the table.”
The deal would make Aquarion a government agency and take it out from under the oversight of PURA, the state’s utility regulator. But first, the plan needs approval from PURA itself.
"This is not something that people can do without," Tong said. "This is not a ‘nice to have.’ We're talking about water for life, and to drive up costs on people right now when they're struggling so much is unconscionable.”
More than 700,000 people rely on Aquarion for water in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
