PURA affirms remand, says United Illuminating must include $5.06M and $692K in 2022 RDM calculation

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on Jan. 29 adopted a remand decision that found United Illuminating Company excluded $5,058,302 in other operating revenues and $692,112 in unbilled revenues from its 2022 revenue decoupling mechanism calculation in a manner inconsistent with Conn. Gen. Stat. §16‑19tt. The panel voted to adopt the staff-prepared decision following a presentation by authority counsel.

The decision matters because the revenue decoupling mechanism, or RDM, is the account through which the authority compares a utility’s actual distribution revenues to its allowed distribution revenues and adjusts rates to reflect under‑ or over‑recovery; changes to what counts as “actual distribution revenues” can affect customer bills and company cost recovery. Authority staff said the remand required the agency to clarify the statutory terms and apply that interpretation to the evidentiary record for United Illuminating’s 2022 RDM calculation.

Authority staff attorney Jim Riley told the commissioners that the operative terms “actual distribution revenues” and “allowed distribution revenues” are not defined in statute and that the authority applied the plain‑meaning rule set out in Conn. Gen. Stat. §1‑2z and interpreted the terms in the context of related utility statutes. Riley said the authority also relied on its accounting experience, subject‑matter expertise and the company’s historical RDM practice to conclude that “actual distribution revenues” include all revenues realized in the course of the distribution business, except those reconciled through another established mechanism.

Applying that definition to the record, the decision concluded that United Illuminating did not demonstrate that the excluded categories at issue are outside the RDM and that unbilled revenues are a type of actual distribution revenue under Conn. Gen. Stat. §16‑19tt. The decision therefore directs that the company’s 2022 RDM calculation be adjusted to reflect inclusion of the $5,058,302 in other operating revenues and $692,112 in unbilled revenues identified in the remand.

A motion to adopt the decision was made and seconded on the record; the authority then completed a roll call vote. The transcript records the vote as: Commissioner Michael Karen — yes; Commissioner David Arconti — yes; Chairman Marissa Gillette — yes. The decision was adopted.

The panel did not place additional directives beyond the remand‑related interpretation and the recalculation ordered in the decision. The authority indicated this action resolves the remand by clarifying the statutory terms and applying that interpretation to the 2022 RDM record for United Illuminating. The meeting adjourned after completing the regular and consent calendars and the authority scheduled its next regular meeting for Feb. 5, 2025, at 9 a.m. by remote teleconference.