PURA Votes on Aquarion Sale, Avangrid Data Breach

0:00It's March 23rd. Welcome to Hartford News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Connecticut Utility Regulators at the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority face the key vote this Wednesday on two big issues. First, the proposed $2,400,400,000 sale of Aquarian Water Company from Ever Source Energy to the Aquarian Water Authority. Second, wrapping up a nearly-year-long probe into a data breach at two avangrid subsidiaries, Connecticut Natural Gas and Southern Connecticut Gas. The Aquarian Deal has sparked plenty of debate. Regulators tentatively approved it earlier this month, flipping their earlier denial from last November. They say state law from this year basically forces their hand, leaving little room to block it. Local towns like Fairfield, New Canaan, Richfield and Westport, along with regional councils, are pushing back hard. They filed motions in court to pause a judge's order, sending the case back for more review. And lawmakers have urged regulators to

1:00hold off a mid, ongoing appeals. On the data breach side, it started last spring with a fishing scam, where an employees send customer data to a fake CEO email. Regulators propose decision praises avangrid's overall response and cybersecurity setup, but flags needs for better data handling, employee alerts, and breach notifications. All this unfolds at Wednesday's 9 a.m. meeting, streaming live on Perr's YouTube channel, as legal fights and potential new laws keep the pressure. On.