Eversource and United Illuminating told the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority during oral argument that achievement of the PBR performance incentive measures (PIMs) will depend on the underlying problem and may require either capital investment or operating expenditures and process changes.

When Commissioner Okonte asked whether PIM outcomes like SAIDI/SAIFI (reliability) and DER interconnection performance were most likely to be achieved through O&M or capital projects, the utilities answered: it depends. ‘‘There are O&M solutions and capital solutions to both,’’ Vincent Pace said. ‘‘We have those tools in our toolbox, and we'll have to make a decision about what's most cost-effective, what's most prudent at that time to solve for that particular problem.’’

Nut graf: The exchange clarified that PURA’s choice of penalty-only or symmetric incentive designs, and how PIMs are scored, will shape utility decision-making and capital prioritization. Utilities said the PBR revenue design should give them an ‘‘envelope of revenues’’ to pursue whichever mix of capital and O&M most efficiently achieves performance objectives.

Witnesses gave examples: vegetation management (an O&M activity) can materially improve safety and reliability on certain circuits, while resolving cable faults or hardening circuits to reduce outages is typically capital-intensive, speakers said. UI counsel Bridal Vaughn said that on the DER side ‘‘the more efficient we become in the process, the better opportunity we would have to achieve that PIM and about streamlining the company's process.’’

Eversource counsel and intervenors also debated whether some PIMs should be symmetric (upside and downside) or downside-only; utilities argued that achieving top-quartile reliability is expensive and that symmetrical rewards would be fairer to compensate exceptional performance. Intervenors emphasized strong consumer protections and the need for transparent, verifiable metrics.

Ending: PURA questioned whether the PBR design provides adequate funding to pursue capital- or O&M-based paths to achieve PIMs; the authority will weigh those concerns in its final decisions. Utilities said they need flexibility to use both capital and O&M tools and to justify choices in the record.