The decision on whether electric utility Connecticut Light & Power will have to pay a penalty of up to $143 million for its deficient 2011 storm responses has been delayed by more than a month.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority case on the CL&P penalty has been underway since March, and regulators were expected to issue a draft decision by Dec. 31.
The decision release, however, was postponed indefinitely and no new date has been set, said Dennis Schain, spokesman for the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, the agency that includes PURA.
The penalty ruling is part of a CL&P rate case where the utility asked to recover $414 million from five different storms in 2011 and 2012. The money would be recovered through rates on the utility’s business and residential customers.
For two of those storms — Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 and the October 2011 nor’easter — CL&P had more than 800,000 customers lose power for up to 11 days. A PURA investigation concluded the utility’s storm preparation and response were deficient and inadequate.
PURA, at the time, said CL&P should be penalized by not being allowed to recover a portion of those storm costs. The regulators did not specify an amount, but Attorney General George Jepsen has called for a penalty of up to $143 million.
However, the PURA investigation left the door open for CL&P to not be penalized, if the utility could prove it significantly improved its response in future emergencies, which it did with Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and the blizzard in February 2013. In its filing, CL&P said it should not have to pay a penalty because of these improvements.
CL&P, however, has already agreed to not seek $40 million in storm recovery costs.
