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STATE OF CONNECTICUT
EXECUTIVE CHAMBERS
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06106 |
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M. Jodi Rell
Governor |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2009
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Contact:
860-524-7313
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Governor Rell Directs DPUC Chief to Seek Refund,
File Formal Complaint Over Power Plant Failures
Governor Demands Relief for Ratepayers After
‘Reprehensible’ Failure to Supply Power as Agreed
Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that she has directed the Chairman of the Department of Public Utility Control to file a formal complaint about power plant owners who failed more than 100 times to supply electricity as contracted and to do whatever he can to recover more than $85 million in ratepayer funds that those companies were paid.
DPUC Chairman Donald W. Downes has already asked ISO-New England, which operates the regional power grid, to identify the owners of the power plants. On at least 108 occasions over the last two years, the companies have failed to supply power for which they had been paid.
Governor Rell’s letter to Downes orders him to take all available actions to recover more than $85 million that the companies were paid. The Governor also directed Downes to file a formal complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission about ISO-New England’s failure to enforce the contracts. Downes is also to review ISO-New England’s regulations to ensure such “reprehensible conduct” is not repeated.
“Connecticut ratepayers are suffering because of the abject failure of these power companies to live up to their contracts and the lack of any effective response by ISO-New England,” Governor Rell said. “That is simply unacceptable. It would be intolerable at any time – but to have it happen while families and employers are struggling every day to make ends meet during a deep economic downturn is simply infuriating.
“I expect ISO-New England to provide a swift response to DPUC’s inquiries and I expect the power companies to return the ratepayer money immediately,” the Governor said. “Equally important, I expect federal regulators to take this matter up quickly and ensure that electric customers in Connecticut – or any other state – will never again have to ask why power they paid for was never delivered.”
