Aquarion

The water company that supplies hundreds of thousands of people across New England can be sold after all. Opponents say it's a cash grab by Eversource that will cost Connecticut residents.

A controversial multi-billion-dollar water sale is back before Connecticut’s top energy regulators. The issue is whether Eversource can sell Aquarion, which supplies water to hundreds of thousands of people.

State regulators voted against a proposed deal to sell Aquarion to the New Haven-based Regional Water Authority for $2.4 billion.

Eversource’s four billion-dollar-plus plan to sell off the water company Aquarion isn’t popular with some Connecticut officials. They include State Attorney General William Tong and dozens of town leaders.

The session faced criticism from some lawmakers who were unhappy with the last minute admission of legislation concerning the South Central Regional Water Authority.

Selling Aquarion Water could bring needed cash and limit regulatory exposure in Connecticut as the company exits offshore wind investments.

This is the first time the water utility has asked the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for a rate increase since it was acquired by the region’s largest power company, Eversource, in 2017. But the company did raise its standard service rates for customers twice last year.

Aquarion, Fairfield and Litchfield County’s largest water company, wants to hike rates for residents by more than 25% over the next three years.

The number of student cases has jumped since the beginning of the school year.

The Fairfield Conservation Commission has criticized a new proposal made by Aquarion that would divert water to southwestern Connecticut.Aquarion’s plan…