CNG, SCG Employees Rally in Opposition to PURA Cuts to Safety, Workforce, and Resiliency
More than 100 CNG SCG employees joined by representatives of Connecticut local businesses, including area Chamber of Commerce, to oppose Draft Decisions in companies’ rate cases
Rally followed by Oral Arguments Hearing at PURA headquarters, attended by more than 100 employees, in which CNG SCG described how PURA’s proposed cuts would jeopardize safety and resiliency of system and harm front-line union workforce
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ORANGE, Conn. — October 30, 2024 — Today, more than 100 employees with Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG) and Southern Connecticut Gas (SCG), subsidiaries of Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), rallied against proposed decisions from the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) that would cut the companies’ revenues by a combined $75 million, more than the companies’ combined net income in 2023. CNG and SCG employees were joined by union leadership, including the presidents of the Connecticut Independent Utility Workers (CIUW) Local 12924 and United Steel Workers (USW) Local 12000 and 12000-1, as well as local businesses and an area Chamber of Commerce, all of whom raised concerns about the impacts of the enormous revenue cuts proposed on the safety of the workforce and the reliability and resiliency of the infrastructure.
“CNG and SCG have served Connecticut customers with safe, reliable natural gas service for more than 175 years, but today, these companies face some of the most severe threats to their health and longevity in their history,” said Frank Reynolds, President and CEO of CNG and SCG. “Cuts to the companies by more than their net income, as PURA has proposed to do in these Draft Decisions, would have a detrimental impact on our ability to maintain and improve the safety of the system, recruit and retain our front-line workforce, and invest in the resiliency and reliability of our critical infrastructure. I am heartened by the response of so many employees, union members and presidents, contractors, and business groups as we come together to rally in opposition to these draconian proposals, and I urge PURA to make changes to these Draft Decisions before they are finalized in November.”
The $75 million in revenue cuts PURA proposed in their Draft Decisions in the companies’ rate cases were announced on October 4. For CNG, PURA proposed a revenue requirement of $403.4 million, which represents a $38.8 million cut to CNG’s current revenues. For SCG, PURA proposed a revenue requirement of $399.4 million, which represents a $36.6 million cut to SCG’s current revenues. The cuts also represent a $136 million swing against the requests the companies had made in their rate cases, with CNG facing a $58.6 million reduction on what it had requested and SCG facing a $77.4 million reduction to what it had requested.
“Having proudly served as the President of CIUW Local 12924 for nearly three decades, I know how impactful PURA’s Draft Decisions would be on the front-line workforces at CNG and SCG if they’re finalized without major changes,” said Rob Eubanks, President of the Connecticut Independent Utility Workers (CIUW) Local 12924 and a Pipe Fitter with CNG-North. “It’s impossible for a company to take on $75 million without consequences on their front-line union workforces, both direct and indirect. We call on PURA to better support the workforces of two of Connecticut’s essential companies.”
Revenue reductions of the size PURA is proposing would significantly impede CNG and SCG’s investment plans, since PURA denied CNG and SCG any ability to proactively plan their infrastructure replacement and modernization programs over the next several years. Additionally, PURA made discrete cuts to CNG and SCG’s cybersecurity programs, gutting the companies’ proposed $6.8 million investment in hardening the safety and security of customer data and the reliability of the energy system. PURA also eliminated funding for the companies’ proposed mobile command centers, removing a tool aimed at promoting safety and quick restoration times in the event of emergency, and for sustainability programs that would allow the companies to promote lasting solutions that reduce emissions across their infrastructure.
“As natural gas distribution companies, safety, reliability, and resiliency are our most important objectives, and we’re proud to deliver on them every single day,” said Al Langland, Vice President of Gas Operations and Engineering at CNG and SCG. “What PURA has proposed to do in these rate cases would make those objectives much more difficult and much more expensive. We are committed to working with PURA and our external partners to continue providing exceptional service for our customers, but PURA’s collaboration in these efforts is essential. It’s time for PURA to abandon this punitive framework and provide two of Connecticut’s oldest, most established companies with the revenue we need to continue our mission of providing safe, reliable natural gas service across the state.”
Cuts on the scale proposed by PURA would negatively impact the companies’ abilities to promote retention and recruitment of their workforces, including their front-line union employees; their ability to partner with local Connecticut businesses to perform major infrastructure upgrades; and their ability to invest in the resiliency and reliability of the natural gas distribution system.
PURA is expected to vote on Final Decisions in the CNG and SCG rate cases on November 18, 2024.
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Media Contact:
Sarah Wall Fliotsos