Commissioners discuss pending sale of local water utility to regional authority and regulatory approvals ahead

Commissioners discussed news reports that a regional water authority reached an agreement to buy the local water company from Eversource for roughly $2.4 billion, and noted the transaction must still clear state utility regulators in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Mike Collins summarized media reports that the purchaser — referred to in the meeting as the Regional Water Authority — offered $2.4 billion and that the deal included cash plus extinguishment of certain debt. Collins said the Regional Water Authority serves hundreds of thousands of customers in south-central Connecticut and that published headlines have compared its average monthly bill (about $66 a month) to the water company’s average of about $44 a month.

"A law was passed middle of last year that authorized this regional water authority to make a bid if they wanted it," Collins said. "They did make a bid. And at the last days of January here, they agreed, with Eversource, for a price, $2,400,000,000."

Commissioners said the sale, if completed, would change the regulatory regime that governs rates. Under the current ownership the company’s rates are regulated by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority; the buyers described in press reports were characterized in the meeting as an unregulated cooperative-like body that votes on rates internally. Meeting participants said the transaction must be approved by PURA in Connecticut and comparable regulators in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Commissioners also noted possible municipal impacts. First Selectman Diana (referenced in the meeting) testified in hearings and raised concerns about how the buyer’s structure could affect property-tax treatment and municipal revenue currently received from the water company. Commissioners said the buyer (referred to in public reports as the Regional Water Authority or RWA) is organized differently than Eversource and that non-taxed ownership could affect local property-tax revenues the town currently receives from the water company.

Members emphasized they were relaying press reports and legislative developments rather than reporting internal town decisions: the transaction is a private sale subject to regulatory approval and, at the meeting’s close, the commission had no formal role in state review.

Ending: Commissioners said they would monitor regulatory filings and noted that if the sale proceeds to regulator review there will be opportunities for public comment and for town officials to submit concerns to the relevant state agencies.