HARTFORD, Conn. —
In a press conference Wednesday morning, State Representative Mitch Bolinsky (R-106) called on the public to submit testimony to both his office and the Connecticut Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA) hearing on Eversource’s rate hikes.
This is not the hearing on the investigation into the electric companies and their storm response.
To submit testimony, compose and send an email, three days prior to the hearing, to pura.information@ct.gov.
The hearing will be conducted via Zoom on August 24th, and anyone wishing to follow or participate must first register online:
- https://ctdeep.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYqcO2urTosGtGf4iMYOF9fUA1xdzNgkD_6 .
- Meeting ID# 927 7463 1605
- After registering, a confirmation will be provided with a direct link to the online proceedings.
The hearing will also be available to watch on ct-n.com.
Rate hikes hit Eversource customers just before Tropical Storm Isaias, creating the perfect storm of frustration across the state. Some customers were without power for over a week while also having to deal with a heatwave and other complications due to the pandemic.
“Despite supposedly applying past electric rate increases to improving manpower, line-hardening and tree trimming to ensure week long electric outages did not happen after the storms of 2011 and 2012, how could this happen again and actually be worse than past experiences?” said Rep. Bolinsky.
According to Rep. Bolinsky, Danbury Representative David Arconti, Co-Chair of the Energy & Technology Committee, has expressly requested the attendance of Eversource CEO, Jim Joyce be on-hand to answer for his company’s performance.
At the press conference, State Senator Tony Hwang (R-28) said the response and accountability had to be better from Eversource.
“One term that was given to me was that the combo of summer heat and nine days without power was an insulting slow burn that has reached the point that is beyond tolerance,” said Sen. Hwang.
“What we are lacking in is preparedness,” said Newtown First Selectman Dan Rosenthal. “I think every [weather] map showed the storm moving up the coast and truthfully, I didn’t expect it to do the damage it did--but I'm not a weatherperson, and I’m not a public utility. Eversource is waiting for storms to hit and then ask ‘what do we need?’. “
PURA has required Eversource to suspend their rate hikes as they investigate. PURA has also opened an investigation into public utility response efforts post-Isaias.