Regulating New Haven’s Electric Utility

Abstract

This paper explores how the United Illuminating Company (UI), the electric utility that serves a number of communities in southwestern Connecticut, including New Haven, has been regulated over the course of its history. By studying laws and regulations from the local, state, and federal government that affect various aspects of UI’s operations—including its corporate structure, its decisions regarding infrastructure, its retail and wholesale rates, the service it provides to its customers, and the level of competition it faces—one consistent theme emerges: the level of regulation that UI is subject to has increased dramatically over the course of its history.