PURA sets date for Connecticut’s utilities to resume residential service shutoffs

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) has set May 2, 2023, as the last day of the pandemic-era mandate that prevents Connecticut”™s utilities from shutting off gas and electricity to residential customers with financial or medical hardships.

According to a Hartford Courant report, more than 16,000 customers of Eversource”™s electricity subsidiary, Connecticut Light & Power while roughly 6,500 customers of the utility”™s Yankee Gas division could have their service disconnected. More than 2,000 United Illuminating customers would also be impacted.

The utilities lobbied to resume their respective service termination processes beginning Nov. 1, but PURA rejected that plan for being “illogical as it does not provide adequate time to inform affected customers of the end of the moratorium on service disconnections.” Both utilities are offering payment plans designed to encourage financially challenged customers to contribute to the costs of their services.