Hearing tonight on NSTAR and NU merger

The public will have a chance to comment on the proposed merger between Northeast Utilities and NSTAR during a hearing that will begin at 6:30 tonight in Room 1D of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

"We've been hearing from the utilities, the attorney general and the Office of Consumer Counsel, but this is a day for the public to speak," said Dennis Schain, spokesman for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

The hearing is before board members of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, an agency within DEEP that will have final say over whether the merger can move forward, and under what conditions. Listening to comments at the hearing will be PURA Chairman Delgobbo and Vice Chairman John Betkoski.

Schain said all comments will be reviewed and will help inform the decision PURA ultimately makes. A draft decision is scheduled for March 26 and a final decision on April 2.

Members of the public who would like to speak at the hearing can begin signing up at 6 p.m. Those unable to attend the hearing can send written comments to: dpuc.executivesecretary@po.state.ct.us. More than 50 written comments from the public are already posted on PURA's website. Information on the application, as well as copies of public comments received thus far, can be found at: ct.gov/pura; search dockets for 12-01-07.

Northeast Utilities, the parent company of Connecticut Light & Power, Western Massachusetts Electric Co., Yankee Gas Services Co. and Public Service of New Hampshire, is proposing purchasing NSTAR, a Massachusetts power company, for $4.7 billion. The merger would create New England's largest utility company, serving 3.5 million electric and gas customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. NSTAR is the largest Massachusetts-based, investor-owned electric and gas utility.

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources has urged state regulators there to delay or reject the deal if the companies can't better detail how the merger would benefit ratepayers and cut carbon emissions.

In Connecticut, Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz has said Connecticut regulators can require Northeast Utilities to show that the deal would have a positive impact on ratepayers by not raising their utility costs.

j.benson@theday.com