Lawmakers Demand Answers After Eversource CEO Says He Shut Faucet Off on CT

Eversource CEO Joseph Nolan told investors on September 30, 2026, that his company stopped spending money in Connecticut during a dispute over storm recovery costs, stating that utility leadership simply shut the faucet off until regulators paid up. WFSB reported that the comments emerged during a conference call with Wall Street analysts, sparking calls for explanations from state lawmakers and Governor Ned Lamont.

Lawmakers Demand Answers Over Paused Connecticut Investments

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff issued a joint statement via EIN Presswire condemning the remarks, arguing that families facing an 11 percent residential electric bill increase should not watch essential grid work be used as a corporate bargaining chip. Senator Duff asked what specific projects were held back and what those delays cost ratepayers, while Senator Ryan Fazio, Co-Chair of the Energy Committee, said Eversource legally cannot shut the faucet off because of a decision from PURA.

Eversource, in this case they have an obligation to maintain the grid so you cannot shut the faucet off because you do not get a decision off of PURA, the regulatory board that you may not want. I’d like to believe that’s not what they’re doing.

Governor Ned Lamont

Governor Lamont warned that the state must act against the company if executives refused to honor their legal responsibilities to maintain safe and reliable infrastructure. Nolan also urged investors to buy the stock heavily, describing Eversource as undervalued while the company simultaneously pursued higher returns on equity and substantial rate adjustments before the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

Conflicting Numbers Cloud the Utility Spending Claims

Discrepancies surfaced between the CEO’s Wall Street rhetoric and the utility’s official financial disclosures. Eversource’s quarterly SEC filing showed its electric utility in Connecticut spent $511.5M on capital projects during the first half of 2026. That paper trail indicates the spending faucet was never fully turned off, or that the reductions applied strictly to projects Eversource chose not to work on.

A spokesperson for Eversource pushed back on the controversy by offering a different framing of the CEO’s remarks. The spokesperson stated that Nolan was actually referring to a public announcement made in 2024 regarding a planned $500 million reduction over five years driven by past regulatory instability.

Rate Reviews and Future Grid Projects Loom Ahead

The public clash arrives as state regulators weigh rate reviews and investment plans. In July, PURA approved $869M in storm cost recovery, a figure Nolan pegged at $960M (or 96% of its storm request figure) during his investor presentation. The utility is pursuing rate adjustments, including smart meter deployments estimated at $1 billion, and additional substation upgrades.

Eversource insists that relations with state leadership remain constructive despite public friction, with Nolan telling investors that after Election Day, “the volume’s going to go right down.” Lawmakers maintain that ratepayers deserve total transparency regarding which infrastructure upgrades were shelved during the regulatory standoff, setting up a review process as the utility pushes for its next wave of system enhancements.