As it prepares customers for the 2021 hurricane season, Eversource is facing $30 million in civil penalties from Connecticut’s Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA) relating to the utility’s response following 2020’s Tropical Storm Isiaias.

The $30 million penalty represents the maximum allowed statutory civil penalty against Eversource, which Connecticut Attorney General William Tong advocated for. The $30 million civil penalty is in addition to the Return on Equity reduction PURA assessed against Eversource last week to incentivize better future storm performance.

(See additional Newtown Bee coverage at newtownbee.com/04292021/officials-reflect-after-pura-announces-penalties-for-eversource-isaias-resp/?q=pura.)

Eversource must return $28.4 million of its $30 million penalty to ratepayers in the form of credits and also pay an additional $1.6 million fine to the state. These penalties, which the utility can challenge in state Superior Court, would be in addition to other financial sanctions the authority imposed last week.

PURA did not issue statements about the penalties. A smaller fine and penalties were issued to United Illuminating, which provides electricity to other areas of the state.

PURA officials wrote in their decision that UI’s preparation for and response to the tropical storm “was markedly better” than that of Eversource. The authority ultimately concluded that UI generally met the standards of acceptable performance but failed to fully meet customers’ “reasonable expectations for managing a major storm event.”

Thousands of Newtown ratepayers were affected, and some languished without electricity for more than a week. Tong said Eversource failed its customers and put Connecticut families at risk after Tropical Storm Isaias.

“I fought for swift, severe penalties from the beginning, and this $30 million penalty is appropriate,” Tong said in a May 6 statement. “Eversource must pay for their failures. This penalty is a strong first step to hold Eversource accountable for their disastrous performance, but this matter is far from over. We will continue to fight before PURA to ensure that Eversource cannot put the full cost of their failures back on ratepayers.”

The final civil penalties determined by PURA after both Eversource and United Illuminating have had hearings shall not be collected from ratepayers.

In his brief to PURA filed on February 5, 2021, addressing Eversource’s Tropical Storm Isaias failures, Attorney General Tong argued that Eversource:

1) was imprudently unprepared to communicate with its customers during the Tropical Storm Isaias emergency;

2) imprudently administered the make-safe phase of the storm response related to road clearing; and

3) ineffectively implemented its town liaison program during the critical early days of the public safety emergency.

Eversource spokeswoman Tricia T. Modifica said, “We are reviewing the notice and look forward to getting through the final stages of the process. While our employees worked tirelessly to restore power as quickly as possible, we recognize the hardships our customers and communities experienced, and we acknowledge there are areas for improvement. We are working — and will continue to work — in good faith with our communities, customers, and regulators to improve our performance.”

The eight-month-long investigation considered more than 500 written public comments, including 46 sets of statements from public officials, with the overwhelming majority centered on monetary losses from spoiled refrigerator items and fuel for back-up generators. Complaints also centered on customers and government officials being unable to reach Eversource — and to a lesser extent, UI — to report outages and downed wires or to get restoration updates.

The PURA penalties, if upheld in court, would be in addition to sanctions ordered on April 28, when the authority reduced the utilities’ abilities to recoup expenses from ratepayers — also because of how Eversource and UI responded to the tropical storm. Regulators required Eversource to reduce its allowed rate of return on equity — a measure of profitability relative to assets and liabilities — for transmission costs by 0.9 percentage points.

Hurricane Season Prep

In recognition of National Hurricane Preparedness Week, May 9-15, Eversource issued a release highlighting its year-round work to strengthen the grid and prepare for severe weather, and encouraging customers to also plan ahead. When power outages do happen, the energy company stated, it “restores power as quickly and safely as possible and wants to help customers better understand how the restoration process works.”

“Severe weather can strike at any time, that’s why emergency preparedness is a top priority and constant focus for us,” said Eversource President of Electric Operations Craig Hallstrom.

“As part of our efforts to strengthen our storm response following Tropical Storm Isaias, we’re upgrading and refining our Emergency Response Plan and implementing new processes, systems, and staffing to ensure that we’re well prepared for hurricane season,” Hallstrom said. “For example, in our annual meetings with communities, we’re introducing our innovative municipal hub that will be officially rolled out this summer. The new portal will be a key tool for our community liaisons to better communicate with municipalities as we address their priorities, critical facilities, and blocked roads during storms.”

As the changing climate increases the frequency and severity of storms, Eversource is constantly working to modernize and strengthen the electric system to help ensure safe and reliable service for its customers.

This includes strategic investments in innovative technology to upgrade the grid, such as smart switches that enable system operators to isolate power outages and remotely reroute power from another source within minutes; smart fuses that automatically restore power to customers when a tree limb temporarily contacts wires and help to protect the electric system when a problem is detected, such as a current surge or overload; and optical ground wire (OPGW) that enhances communication between company facilities and protects the high-voltage transmission system from severe weather conditions, such as lightning strikes.

“While we can’t prevent storms from happening, customers depend on us to restore power as quickly and safely as possible, and we take that responsibility seriously,” added Hallstrom. “We track multiple weather sources closely every day all year long, and have crews working 24/7. We keep our warehouse and work centers around the state fully stocked at all times to ensure that we’re prepared to respond to any damage or outages a storm may cause — whenever a storm hits — and we maintain the flexibility to move those resources around the state as necessary.”

With trees being the number one cause of power outages during storms, the energy company’s comprehensive year-round tree trimming program is another critical component of its constant preparedness efforts. Trimming and removing trees that threaten overhead electric lines is crucial to providing customers with reliable power in all types of weather, and the energy company is investing more than $72 million for tree trimming this year.

Eversource also reminds customers to take steps to prepare for hurricane season at home and know what to do before, during and after a storm. Have an emergency plan in place, stock a storm kit with essential items (including pet food and medications), plan a meeting place for family members, and be ready to check on neighbors.

For more information on Eversource’s emergency preparedness efforts and restoration process, visit eversource.com.

This report contains CTMirror content by Keith M. Phaneuf. Associate Editor John Voket can be reached at john@thebee.com.