After investigating Northeast Utilities for possibly infringing on its merger agreement with Connecticut officials, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority said it did not oppose NU’s plans for outsourcing jobs, closing down facilities, and relocating employees, according to a regulatory filing.
PURA launched an investigation in November after Attorney General George Jepsen and Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz said they were concerned about the number of employees NU was laying off in Connecticut, plans to outsource 200 information-technology jobs to India-based companies, and closure of facilities in Lebanon, Middletown, South Windsor and Willimantic, among others.
Jepsen and Swanson Katz were particularly concerned how these changes would impact the emergency preparedness and response of NU subsidiaries Connecticut Light & Power and Yankee Gas. They also pointed to the agreement between NU and state officials approving NU’s $5 billion merger with Boston-based NStar, that said layoffs in Connecticut shouldn’t be disproportionate to other states where NU operates like Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
In its final ruling in the investigation released Wednesday, PURA said NU’s plans to outsource and close facilities should not impact storm response or customer service. PURA plans to monitor the issues through a series of orders and a technical meeting in early 2015.
“Northeast Utilities has made a number of changes designed to deliver improved efficiencies and superior service to our customers,” NU spokesman Al Lara said. “We’re grateful that the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has affirmed our position that these changes would not impede our storm response or the terms of our merger settlement.”
