A regional planning organization is calling for a newly appointed state utility regulator to recuse herself from deciding the fate of the proposed $2.4 billion sale of Aquarion Water Co., citing past public statements that favored the deal.
The Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments filed a formal request Friday asking Public Utilities Regulatory Authority Interim Commissioner Janice A. Beecher to step aside from the case, arguing that her previous statements in favor of the Bridgeport-based water utility’s sale raise questions about her impartiality.
MetroCOG, which represents six southwestern Connecticut municipalities including Bridgeport, Fairfield and Stratford, pointed to Beecher’s August 2024 presentation to the Regional Water Authority’s Representative Policy Board, in which she offered perspectives on water utility ownership models.
According to a transcript of that meeting included in the recusal request, Beecher characterized investor-owned water utilities as more costly and lacking transparency, while describing public water authorities as better positioned for regional collaboration and access to federal financing programs.
The board approved the acquisition proposal on Sept. 4, 2024, days after Beecher’s presentation.
“Members of the public could view your presentation as biased against investor-owned utilities,” attorney Anthony M. Macleod wrote in the request.
In January, publicly traded Eversource Energy announced it would sell Aquarion to a newly created quasi-public, nonprofit entity, called Aquarion Water Authority. Supporters, including Eversource and the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority in New Haven, argue the transaction will lower financing costs and stabilize rates by converting Aquarion to nonprofit status.
Beecher, a professor emeritus at Michigan State University with four decades of experience in utility regulation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
Her appointment to PURA came last month as part of Gov. Ned Lamont’s nomination of four new commissioners following a leadership shakeup at the agency. She is serving in an interim capacity pending General Assembly confirmation.
Another newly appointed interim commissioner disclosed her own past involvement in a separate filing Friday. Interim Commissioner Holly Cheeseman, a former state representative, revealed she voted in favor of Public Act 24-1 — the law that enabled the Aquarion transaction — while serving in the legislature.
“While I believe that I can remain impartial in evaluating the issues before the Authority in this proceeding, I will not render a decision without confidence in my understanding of the entire record and my ability to render an impartial decision,” Cheeseman wrote in a letter.
Interim PURA Chairman Thomas Wiehl has already recused himself from the case due to his prior role as legal and regulatory director for the state Office of Consumer Counsel, which submitted testimony in the case.
The Aquarion sale has drawn intense scrutiny.
Opponents — including more than two dozen municipalities, the state attorney general, the Department of Public Health and environmental group Save the Sound — warn the move could eliminate local tax revenues, burden ratepayers with debt and reduce regulatory oversight.
PURA is scheduled to issue a final decision on Nov. 19.
Eversource, which acquired Aquarion in 2017, said during an earnings call this week that it expects to complete the sale by the end of 2025.
The controversy comes as PURA confronts broader scrutiny following the resignation of former Chair Marissa Gillett in October after a tumultuous five-year tenure marked by conflicts with utility companies and Republican lawmakers over her regulatory approach.
MetroCOG praised Wiehl’s decision to recuse himself.
“Recusal would quell any such doubts” about impartiality “at a time when the public, including customers, municipalities and legislators all need assurance of impartiality,” Macleod wrote.
