UIL Holdings Corp. – the parent company of electric utility United Illuminating – wants to combine its two recently acquired Connecticut natural gas companies for regulatory purposes.
Last week, UIL and the state Office of Consumer Counsel filed a joint settlement with the Department of Public Utility Control resolving a number of disputes pertaining to rates that began before UIL acquired Connecticut Natural Gas Corp. and Southern Connecticut Gas Co. in November.
In the settlement, UIL said it will combine the two Connecticut gas companies by 2013, strictly for regulatory purposes. That means their financials will be reported on a combined basis and all regulatory requests – such as rate increases – will be considered on that combined basis.
UIL may merge the two gas companies completely, UIL spokesman Michael West said, as the corporation searches for synergy in its holdings.
The proposed UIL-OCC settlement calls for the current rates for the two gas companies to remain the same until July 2012. A surcharge on customer bills will be shifted from year-round to only non-winter month bills.
DPUC must approve the settlement.
The idea behind the settlement for UIL is to give its relationship with its new natural gas customers a clean slate, West said.
