Bridgeport-based Aquarion Co. said it has agreed to purchase Plainville’s New England Service Co., which operates four water utilities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The all-stock deal, which still needs regulatory and shareholder approvals, would add approximately 10,000 customers to Aquarion’s customer base of 216,000, and comes about three years after New England utility giant Eversource paid $1.7 billion to acquire Aquarion. The NESC-owned Valley Water Systems, which has over 6,800 customers in Plainville, Southington, and Farmington, is the largest of NESC’s regulated holdings. The others include Colonial Water Co. and Mountain Water Systems in Massachusetts, and Abenaki Water Co. in New Hampshire. Aquarion, which has acquired more than 70 water systems over the past decade, said it would retain all of NESC’s employees and that the merger “will create long-term benefits for customers, employees, and the communities we serve.”
https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/eversources-aquarion-to-buy-plainville-water-utility-parent