A settlement approved on Friday will cut Connecticut Water Company rates by 6.4 percent starting next April and will credit customers $10 million in refunds from the IRS, according to a release from the office of the Attorney General.
The water company agreed to hold off on seeking a rate increase until at least 2015 and to delay a rate adjustment for infrastructure improvements until next July at the earliest.
The settlement was negotiated by the Attorney General and Consumer Counsel and approved by the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA).
“This settlement is a fair compromise that will lower bills for Connecticut Water’s 90,000 customers and stabilize rates for the near future,” said Attorney General George Jepsen, in a release.
The $10 million in refunds come from federal taxes that the water company paid between 2010 and 2012.
PURA will also investigate the use of tax refunds on other public utility companies, including the Aquarion Water Company, Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating.
Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz said this could lead to “millions more in savings for other utility customers.”
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