Yesterday, Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) approved a preliminary decision on Northeast Utilities’ (NU) Connecticut Light & Power rate case. In the decision, the regulators slashed the utility’s rate increase request by nearly 50% to $98.8 million for two years.
 
The regulator’s decision recommended a two-step rate increase for Connecticut Light & Power with the first increase of $61.1 million from July 2010 and another increase of $37.7 million in July 2011. The decision assumes a 9.4% allowed ROE.
 
Connecticut Light & Power had initially requested a $177.6 million rate hike, with $133.4 million effective July 2010 and another $44.2 million in July 2011 based on a 10.5% ROE. The utility had also requested a decoupling mechanism, which would delink revenue from power usage, and a pension tracker.
 
The Connecticut  DPUC ‘s decision also denies Connecticut Light & Power’s proposed decoupling and pension tracking mechanisms, but approves the vast majority of its 2010-2012 capital plan. A final decision on the case is due on June 30, 2010.
 
Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northeast Utilities providing electric services to approximately 1.2 million customers in 149 cities and towns in Connecticut.
 
Hartford, Connecticut-based Northeast Utilities engages in the energy delivery business for residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and western Massachusetts. It operates in three segments: Electric Distribution, Natural Gas Distribution, and Electric Transmission.
 
The company’s regulated businesses accounted for roughly 95% of total earnings in 2009, with Electric Transmission, Electric Distribution, and Natural Gas Distribution representing 48%, 41% and 6%, respectively. The company’s unregulated businesses, which are being wound down, accounted for the remaining 5% of 2009 earnings.
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