One million dollars’ worth of fines have been handed down to three Connecticut natural gas companies from state utility regulators.
The fines are for safety and recordkeeping violations in 2020 through 2022, according to notices sent by PURA, also known as the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.
Two companies owned by Avangrid, which also owns United Illuminating, were the latest ones to receive fines - $300,000 for Connecticut Natural Gas and $500,000 for Southern Connecticut Gas.
Avangrid spokesman Craig Gilvarg said in a statement:
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“We are disappointed that these excessive fines were levied years after these issues occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic while our staff were working tirelessly to provide safe and reliable service to our customers. The safety of our gas network, critical infrastructure, and our customers is the highest priority for Southern Connecticut Gas (SCG) and Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG). Having recently completed a record and field audit, which is conducted by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority every two years and assessed historical compliance with state regulations for the period between 2021-2022, SCG and CNG are pleased that the audit demonstrates the overall strength of the companies’ performance, in particular the qualifications of our operators and field audits of company personnel. The companies have taken concrete steps to resolve those issues, and continue to work diligently to achieve full compliance with all state regulations.”
Not long before that, Yankee Gas, which is owned by Eversource, received a $200,000 fine for similar violations.
Eversource told us part of its fine had to do with inspecting meters inside homes, and homeowners would not always let them in to perform the inspections.
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Spokeswoman Tricia Modifica issued the following statement:
"We have thoroughly reviewed the notice and have reinforced protocols to ensure full compliance with regulations, as we share PURA’s goal to provide safe, reliable service for our customers. The most significant concern was driven by gaining access to customers’ utility meters inside their homes and buildings for routine inspections. Despite our repeated attempts, many customers deny access. As a result, PURA fined us for failing to take additional measures – such as service disconnection – to encourage customers to provide access. We support PURA’s goal to inspect inside meters and look forward to exploring other possible legal means to gain access to these inside meters and we’re pleased we were able to resolve this matter through a consent process with PURA."
