🔒Eversource clears legal hurdle in Aquarion sale, presses PURA to remove another

A legal obstacle to Eversource Energy’s $2.4 billion sale of Aquarion Water Co. disappeared Monday as a coalition of Fairfield County towns withdrew a state Appellate Court appeal, which had created uncertainty around the transaction. Eversource is now pressing regulators to act on what Aquarion has described as another hurdle to closing the sale: a ruling by state utility regulators on the return of roughly $1.5 million in escrowed funds to Aquarion customers. “We are actively working to satisfy the conditions and compliance requirements which PURA laid out as necessary for the transaction to close,” Eversource spokeswoman Sarah Paduano said Tuesday. “We intend to close as soon as we possibly can.” Eversource has previously said it expects the transaction to close before the end of 2026. The deal would transfer ownership of Aquarion — Connecticut’s largest water utility, serving about 688,000 customers in 57 municipalities — to Aquarion Water Authority, a nonprofit quasi-public entity created by a special act of the General Assembly. The new authority would share management and other resources with the Regional Water Authority in New Haven. The appeal withdrawn Monday was filed in February by the towns of Fairfield, New Canaan, Ridgefield and Westport, along with two regional councils of governments. The groups challenged a January Superior Court ruling that found the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority had erred in rejecting the sale and ordered the agency to reconsider its decision. But the appeal became largely moot in March, when PURA, following a court-ordered remand, approved the transaction, replacing its November 2025 denial. No party appealed PURA’s March decision within the 45-day statutory period. On June 18, Eversource filed an emergency motion asking the Appellate Court to dismiss the case, arguing the towns were using an appeal of a now-superseded decision to delay a transaction regulators had already approved. With the court challenge resolved, Eversource is now waiting on PURA to act on a compliance filing submitted in April seeking approval to return about $1.5 million, including interest, to customers as a one-time bill credit. PURA made the refund a condition of approving the sale. In a June 16 filing, Aquarion told regulators that the parties are otherwise prepared to complete the transaction and that PURA’s approval of the pending filing is now the “critical path item” for closing. “The parties are now in a position to close the transaction upon their own mutual agreement on closing date, so long as PURA approves” the filing, Aquarion said. PURA declined to comment, citing the pending proceeding. The escrow account stems from Aquarion’s last rate case, which began in 2022. In March 2023, PURA rejected the company’s request for a $35.3 million rate increase and instead ordered rates reduced by nearly $2 million. Aquarion appealed. A Superior Court judge allowed the company to continue charging existing rates while the appeal proceeded, but ordered Aquarion to place any revenue collected above the level authorized by PURA into a separate, interest-bearing escrow account. Later court and regulatory decisions restored about $2.95 million in annual revenue to Aquarion, reducing — but not eliminating — the amount owed to customers. Eversource told PURA in April that the average single-family residential customer would receive a credit of about $5.05. Industrial customers would receive roughly $80.75, while one wholesale resale customer would receive more than $30,000.