Yankee Gas urges PURA to adopt multiyear performance‑based rate plan with metrics, penalties and incentives

Yankee Gas asked the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) to approve a four‑year, formula‑driven performance‑based rate making framework that the company said would link rates to measured service outcomes and reduce the frequency of traditional rate cases.

Doug Horton, vice president of distribution rates and regulatory requirements for Eversource Energy Service Company, told the PURA panel that "First and foremost, there's statutory and policy policy support here in Connecticut to implement PBR," and described a package the company says combines a revenue formula with performance metrics, an earnings‑sharing mechanism and capital trackers.

The company described five primary elements of its plan: a formula‑based revenue cap (an "I minus X" approach) coupled with a multiyear stay‑out commitment; a set of performance metrics and scorecards; an earnings‑sharing mechanism that would split excess earnings with customers; capital funding mechanisms (including a KBAR concept and a DIMP tracker for specific programs); and a consumer dividend the company says would trigger in certain market conditions. Julia Freire, managing director at London Economics International LLC, said the PBR proposal builds on decades of experience elsewhere and cautioned that rejecting PBR would "defer[] those benefits."

Yankee provided specifics on the metrics and the potential financial scope. Seth Krueger, vice president of gas engineering, summarized that the company…