Attorney General William Tong has commented on the recent draft decisions by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) to reduce revenue for Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG) and Southern Connecticut Gas (SCG). The decision aims to decrease CNG's revenue by $38,758,691, or about 8.8 percent, resulting in a reduction of monthly bills by approximately $12-13. Similarly, SCG's revenue is set to decrease by $36,617,527, or around 8.4 percent, with a similar impact on monthly bills.
Both companies had initially sought rate increases; CNG requested an additional $19.7 million while SCG aimed for a $43 million increase. This week also saw Yankee Gas indicating plans to pursue a rate hike. SCG and CNG are subsidiaries of Avangrid, whereas Yankee Gas is owned by Eversource.
Attorney General Tong criticized the actions of CNG: “CNG over-collected millions of dollars from Connecticut families, then had the gall to ask for millions more. This was a non-starter." He emphasized that their applications contained "unjustified profits and unnecessary expenses," praising PURA for implementing significant rate reductions. Tong highlighted the burden of rising utility costs on Connecticut families and pledged continued efforts in these proceedings.
The reduction in rates follows an earnings report from 2023 revealing that CNG over-collected $8 million from consumers. While half was returned to ratepayers to mitigate winter heating costs, approximately $4 million went to shareholders. In response, Attorney General Tong collaborated with Consumer Counsel Claire E. Coleman and other entities to petition PURA for a new rate hearing aimed at reducing consumer costs.
Despite this report, both CNG and SCG filed applications seeking further rate increases. Attorney General Tong opposed these increases through briefs highlighting unjustified requests including unnecessary expenses and an excessively high proposed return on equity.