The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority approved the controversial sale of Eversource-owned Aquarion Company to a new nonprofit entity called the Aquarion Water Authority, overturning its November 19 denial of the transaction after a court remand. The deal transfers the state's largest water utility, which serves approximately 722,000 people in 62 municipalities, from corporate ownership to nonprofit status despite widespread opposition from state officials, consumer advocates, and local municipalities.
Attorney General Tong argued the transaction will gut public oversight and consumer protections while imposing massive rate increases on Connecticut families. "The economics of this deal made zero sense. It's a costly loser wrapped in a bunch of fuzzy math and empty promises," Tong said. Under the approved structure, the new nonprofit will share resources with the South Central Regional Water Authority, including executive leadership and board governance, fundamentally changing how water rates are regulated in the state.
The conversion eliminates PURA's regulatory authority over the water utility, replacing it with a nonprofit board structure that lacks the same consumer protections. Unlike PURA, which can make line-item adjustments to rate requests and has previously rejected significant rate increases, nonprofit utility boards can only accept or reject rate requests in their entirety. The South Central Regional Water Authority's board has never rejected a rate hike request, raising concerns about future oversight effectiveness.
The sale comes after years of regulatory battles between Eversource and PURA over rate increases. In 2023, PURA rejected Aquarion's attempt to raise rates by nearly 30 percent, a decision largely affirmed by the Connecticut Supreme Court. The approved transaction includes projections for annual rate increases between 6.5 percent and 8.35 percent through 2035, with additional rate hikes expected every five years thereafter, potentially doubling water bills for Connecticut families over the next decade.
"This is a $6 billion gift to Eversource, to be paid by Connecticut families and towns over the next 40 years," Tong said. "Literally no one wanted this deal except for the utility executives looking to cash out." The Attorney General personally argued against the deal before PURA alongside the Office of Consumer Counsel and representatives from towns in Aquarion's service territory.
The approval represents a significant shift in Connecticut's water utility landscape, moving one of the state's largest utilities from traditional public utility regulation to a nonprofit governance model with reduced state oversight. Under the new structure, the nonprofit will select its own consumer advocate and set that advocate's compensation, rather than having independent consumer protection advocates appointed by the state.
The transaction's approval follows what Tong characterized as intensive lobbying efforts by utility interests. "The utilities spent a ton of money on expensive lawyers and lobbyists to run their chief regulator out of town," he said. "Today, Eversource got exactly what they paid for."