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PURA approves 0.5% surcharge for Connecticut Water to fund PFAS-related work
Summary
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority approved a 0.5% water-quality and treatment adjustment (WQTA) surcharge for Connecticut Water Company, effective April 1, 2026, and reclassified several proposed projects'with all eligible work subject to prudence review in the company's next general rate case.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority voted to approve a 0.5% water-quality and treatment adjustment surcharge for Connecticut Water Company, the authority announced during its March 18 special meeting.
Authority staff told commissioners the WQTA mechanism is a statutory rate-adjustment tool to accelerate major water-quality and treatment projects necessary to meet state or federal drinking-water requirements. Mark Benedetti, the presenting staff member, said the current filing seeks recovery for projects addressing federal and state standards adopted after 2021 related to PFAS contamination.
Benedetti said the authority removed some costs from the company's original request where projects were ineligible or only conditionally eligible under the WQTA rules, and that the authority reclassified one project from conditionally eligible to eligible for WQTA recovery, classified four projects as conditionally eligible (including two projects presented for the first time in this annual filing), and reclassified two projects as ineligible based on updated PFAS test results. He added that all WQTA-eligible projects will undergo a full prudence review at Connecticut Water's next general rate proceeding.
Chair Tom Wheel, who opened the meeting and identified himself as interim chairman, thanked staff for their work and said he would support the decision, calling the mechanism a potential solution for financing incremental investments needed to meet PFAS and other new treatment standards.
The authority adopted the decision by motion and roll-call vote; the staff recommendation and the 0.5% surcharge take effect April 1, 2026. The authority's approval permits recovery through the WQTA surcharge subject to later prudence determinations in the company's general rate case.
The panel did not change the statutory framework that governs WQTA recovery; staff and the authority noted that eligibility and final prudence reviews occur at later proceedings.
