One state official is calling for an investigation into the Connecticut Water Company’s possible plans to cut its workforce just weeks after getting approval to increase rates.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said his office learned about CWC layoffs through an anonymous employee and his office later confirmed with the company that jobs might be cut, he said in a release.
“Shuffling employees out the door after a rate increase -- which we opposed -- would belie the company’s promises used to justify its rate increases,” Blumenthal said. “I urge the DPUC to investigate whether these Connecticut Water Company layoffs break the company’s promise to increase staff, not diminish it.”
On July 14, the state Department of Public Utilities approved the water company’s application to increase rates and the number of ratepayer-funded employees, from 226 to 233.
In asking for the increase, company officials said the company acquired several small systems that require more attention and support than the company’s larger systems and they needed adequate resources to provide quality service to customers, Blumenthal said.
“Ratepayers always deserve assurances that service quality will be sustained -- but even more so after a recent 13-percent rate increase,” Blumenthal said.
