United Illuminating said Wednesday that is has cut nearly $70 million worth of investments in its Connecticut service territory as a result of regulators’ decision to deny much of the utility’s request for a rate increase on its customers in 2023. Those cuts, which company officials alluded to in recent statements bemoaning their financial position, mark the latest exchange in an escalating public feud between the state’s two largest electric utilities and their regulators at the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. Connecticut’s largest utility company, Eversource, made a similar announcement last year that it was cutting more $500 million worth of investments in the state over five years as a result of its frustrations with PURA’s regulatory approach.
United Illuminating, citing PURA rate case, cuts $70M in CT investments