Water rate increases approved for Aquarion


 


 

A final decision on a large rate increase requested by Aquarion Water Company has been reached by the state Department of Public Utilities Control (DPUC).Citing a great need to upgrade an old and failing infrastructure and increases in operating expenses, what was formerly Bridgeport Hydraulic Company asked for rate hikes that would bring in $31.95 million in capital funding.

The DPUC split the difference between the recognized need and economic impacts to consumers. It approved about 60 percent of the request, or $19.3 million. What that means to typical residential water customers in Litchfield County is a quarterly bill increase of $14.53, or about 15 percent.

The rate increase becomes effective only after capital improvements are made and put into service.

The decision came after months of hearings around the state. Commissioners weighed the facts, including the 10 years since the last rate increase and a stated $129.5 million in needed infrastructure improvements.

As if to emphasize what Aquarion called a system of pipes and pumping stations in peril, regular news reports this winter have told of roads flooded in various parts of the state by water main breaks.

In a press release, DPUC Vice Chairman John W. Betkoski stated, "This department in not insensitive to utility rate increases. However, it has been a decade since the company's last rate increase and in that time it has spent many millions of dollars to improve an aging infrastructure system to meet the needs of the 21st century, which the department deems prudent. Both logic and state law require that the company be compensated for this investment as it is the ratepayer that will benefit as time unfolds."

The DPUC valued Aquarion's rate base at more than $458 million. The decision puts the company's return on equity at 10 percent.

 

 

 

 

 

Latest News

The Hydrilla Menace: Scientific coalition aids Salisbury’s lakes amid immediate and dire threat

Bill Moorhead, senior botanist with CT DEEP’s Natural Diversity Database, took notes during a boat tour of East Twin Lake Monday, Sept. 9 where new colonies of hydrilla had taken root. The Connecticut River variant’s genetic makeup is still a mystery to scientists.

Photo by Debra A. Aleksinas

This is the third of a series on invasive aquatic hydrilla and its growing threat to waterbodies and communities in Northwest Connecticut.

SALISBURY — Three pontoon boats loaded with passengers headed out into the open waters of East Twin Lake. This was no joy ride.

Keep ReadingShow less
Norfolk installs 13-acre solar array at Town Farm

This crew worked long hard hours all summer long installing the landfill solar array in Norfolk.

Photo by Jennifer Almquist

NORFOLK — Driving into the Norfolk Transfer Station, their vehicles filled with a week’s worth of garbage and recycling, folks in Norfolk have watched the extraordinary transformation of the surrounding fields into a massive solar array.

Norfolk is one of the first towns in the state to install a 5-megawatt (MW) landfill solar array covering more than 13 acres.

Keep ReadingShow less
Crescendo’s upcoming tribute to Wanda Landowska

Kenneth Weiss (above) will play a solo recital performance in honor of Wanda Landowska, a harpischord virtuoso, who lived in Lakeville for many years.

Provided

On Sept. 14, Crescendo, the award-winning music program based in Lakeville, will present a harpsichord solo recital by Kenneth Weiss in honor of world-renowned harpsichordist Wanda Landowska. Landowska lived in Lakeville from 1941 to 1959. Weiss is a professor at the Paris Conservatoire and has taught at Julliard. Born in New York, he now resides in Europe.

Weiss will play selections from “A Treasury of Harpsichord Music.” It includes works by Baroque composers such as Bach, Mozart, and Handel. It was recorded by Landowska at her Lakeville home, at 63 Millerton Road, which overlooks Lakeville Lake. Weiss said, “I am honored and excited to play in Lakeville, where Wanda Landowska lived.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Silent cinema, live magic

The live audience at Music Mountain takes in a silent film Sept. 7.

Natalia Zukerman

On Saturday, Sept. 7, Gordon Hall at Music Mountain was transformed into a time machine, transporting the audience for a 1920’s spectacular of silent films and live music. Featuring internationally acclaimed silent film musicians Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton, the evening began with a singalong of songs by Gershwin, Irving Berlin and more. Lyrics for favorites like “Ain’t We Got Fun,” “Yes Sir That’s My Baby,” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’” were projected on the screen and Sosin and Seaton lead the crowd with an easeful joy. The couple then retreated to the side of the stage where they provided the live and improvised score for Buster Keaton’s 1922 short, “Cops,” and his 1924 comedy, “Sherlock Jr.”

Joanna Seaton and Donald Sosin, a husband-and-wife duo, have crafted a singular career, captivating audiences at some of the world’s most prestigious film festivals—New York, TriBeCa, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Telluride, and Yorkshire among them. Their performances have graced venerable institutions like MoMA, Film at Lincoln Center, the AFI Silver Theatre, and Moscow’s celebrated Lumière Gallery. Their melodic journey has taken them to far-flung locales such as the Thailand Silent Film Festival and the Jecheon International Music and Film Festival in South Korea. Notably, Seaton and Sosin have become a fixture at Italy’s renowned silent film festivals in Bologna and Pordenone, where they perform annually.

Keep ReadingShow less