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First selectman testifies against Aquarion sale to RWA at PURA hearings, warns of rate impacts
Summary
New Canaan’s first selectman testified at PURA hearings opposing the sale of Aquarion’s distribution to the Regional Water Authority, warning the sale could remove PURA regulation and lead to substantial rate increases.
New Canaan’s first selectman and Ridgefield’s first selectman testified at three days of hearings before the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) in New Britain, opposing the proposed sale of Aquarion’s water-distribution assets to the Regional Water Authority (RWA).
The first selectman told the Board of Selectmen that the sale would remove PURA regulation over rates and transfer oversight to a representative policy board structured under the authority, which would include a majority of representatives from the RWA service territory rather than from the current Aquarion towns. He said the proposed governance mix raised concerns about local ratepayer representation.
“The fear is the cost of water locally will be, sort of unregulated in a lot of ways,” the first selectman said, and quoted figures from the RWA filing that indicated a proposed year-one increase of more than 8% and annual increases around 6% for several years thereafter.
Officials described the proceedings as detailed, with PURA requesting additional data; a decision is not expected until late October or mid-November. Selectmen from towns in the service area, the first selectman said, uniformly opposed the sale at the hearings.
The town’s testimony emphasized representation and rate stability concerns; the board said it would continue to follow the PURA process and supply requested data.
