October 1, 2013

Attorney General George Jepsen and Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz today issued the following statement on the announcement that Northeast Utilities (NU) intends to outsource much of its information technology department and consolidate facilities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire:

“While not unexpected, the changes NU announced today are very significant and will severely impact those Connecticut families that are ultimately affected by the planned staff reductions. The Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Consumer Counsel have already asked the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to fully review the effect that outsourcing of information technology jobs could have on the company’s major storm outage readiness, response and communication as well as the company’s compliance with the approved merger agreement.

“We remain deeply committed to the terms included in the merger agreement, and we will continue to monitor this situation to ensure that Connecticut is not ultimately disproportionately affected. Additionally, we will work to ensure that anticipated cost savings arising from outsourcing and consolidation are reflected in lower rates to consumers in the 2014 rate case. While the full impact of today’s announcement will likely not be known for several months, these changes make it even more critical that PURA take a close look at NU’s manner of operations in Connecticut.”

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