NU Creates A $30 Million Fund

For Those Hit Hardest By Storm

By Mark Pazniokas

©The Connecticut Mirror

Northeast Utilities this week announced $30 million in rebates for the 230,000 customers left in the dark for at least a week after the October 29 snowstorm, triple the original offer made three weeks ago to cope with the public relations disaster.

At the suggestion of Governor Dannel P. Malloy, the rebate program will be overseen by Kenneth R. Feinberg, the lawyer who administered the victim compensation funds established after the 9/11 attacks and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Eligible customers who file claims by January 31 will receive a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $200, depending on how many claims are filed.

The initial effort would have provided an average of just $43, if reserved for the hardest-hit customers of NU’s embattled subsidiary, Connecticut Light & Power. It was criticized by customers and received tepidly by Malloy, who had pointedly dismissed the $10 million as a first step.

“As we heard from our customers and had discussions with Gov Malloy and his staff, it became clear that the original sum we proposed, $10 million, was insufficient,” said Charles W. Shivery, NU’s chairman and chief executive officer. “While this storm was unprecedented, we set very high expectations for the performance of Connecticut Light and Power. Clearly, we did not meet a number of those expectations.”

Malloy praised the utility for upping its initial offer.

“I see this as a meaningful attempt on their part to give some financial relief to the residential customers who were most inconvenienced as a result of an extended power outage. And I think they’re to be commended for committing up to $5 million to the not-for-profit groups that always step up in Connecticut’s time of need,” Malloy said.

“Having said that, I realize there will be a lot of people who were out of power for a significant amount of time who can’t apply for this money, and who will be unhappy as a result,” he said. “It’s not a perfect solution, but let’s remember that this was an unprecedented storm that caused an unprecedented amount of damage.

“I also want to be clear,” Malloy said, “that nothing that’s being announced today is going to change whatever measures may be required based on what we learn as a result of the reviews and investigations that are being conducted into CL&P’s response to the storm. We still need to find out what went wrong, why it went wrong and what can be done to fix it. And every possible ‘fix’ remains on the table.”

(This story originally appeared at CTMirror.org, the website of The Connecticut Mirror, an independent, non-profit news organization covering government, politics, and public policy in the state.)