| Dear Friends & Neighbors,
After Tropical Storm Isais, too many of us suffered through electrical outages and blocked roads, in many cases lasting over one week.
Eversource dropped the ball – big time.
We need to ensure this does not happen again.
Today the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), Eversource’s regulator, heard public testimony. They have the authority to hold Eversource accountable.
Below is my written testimony to the PURA Commissioners:
Dear Commissioners,
I am writing to convey how utterly unacceptable Eversource’s conduct was in reaction to Storm Isais. Over 700,000 Connecticut residents went without power, many for as long as one week. Additionally Eversource completely failed to communicate, literally leaving many stranded in the dark. This was on top of the recently passed rate increase, which has doubled our monthly electric bills.
I urge PURA to move forward with the following:
1. All Eversource storm related costs should be borne by the shareholders, with none borne by ratepayers.
2. The recent rate increase needs to be suspended pending investigation.
3. The Eversource CEO should consider resigning.
4. A thorough investigation needs to occur to find out exactly what happened, coupled with reforms to ensure this does not happen again.
5. Eversource needs to make tree trimming an overriding priority.
6. Eversource needs to have dedicated personnel assigned to each Connecticut town to coordinate road clearings and electrical power restoration.
If elected again as your legislator, I will strongly support legislative investigation into Eversource plus co-sponsor effective reform legislation. |
