Eversource Energy, New England’s largest regulated utility, has been the subject of a string of major lawsuits and regulatory actions in recent years. The most consequential Eversource lawsuits include a governance case against Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority that ended in binding procedural reforms, a $45 million Massachusetts settlement returning money to gas and electric customers, a $450 million wrongful death claim over a fatal gas explosion in Maynard, and a $15 million ERISA class action brought by the company’s own employees. A separate consumer suit accusing the company of greenwashing natural gas was dismissed. Several additional regulatory penalties, a Connecticut court ruling that treats delivered electricity as a “product,” and a pending $503 million rate case round out the picture.
The PURA Governance Lawsuit in Connecticut
In January 2025, Eversource and United Illuminating (a subsidiary of Avangrid) sued the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in Hartford Superior Court, alleging that Chair Marissa Gillett had concentrated authority in her own hands and violated state law in how the agency ran contested matters. The utilities said Gillett had appointed herself as presiding officer in hundreds of cases, issued rulings under the name of PURA’s executive secretary to create the appearance of full-commission decisions, and made more than 6,000 motion rulings without the votes state law required. The complaint also pointed to a previously undisclosed PURA policy that granted the presiding officer “exclusive, unfettered discretion” to rule on motions without consulting other commissioners.1Connecticut General Assembly. Testimony Regarding Marissa Paslick Gillett
Avangrid’s gas subsidiaries filed a parallel challenge to a rate case decided under Gillett’s leadership. On September 17, 2025, state attorneys offered to send that rate appeal back to PURA without Gillett’s participation. She announced her resignation two days later, effective October 10, 2025.2CT Mirror. Marissa Gillett PURA Chair Resigns
In November 2025, New Britain Superior Court Judge Matthew Budzik ruled that PURA under Gillett had broken the law, deviated from accepted procedures, frozen commissioners out of rate-setting, and violated public records laws. He found the procedural errors “so pervasive as to deprive” the gas companies of a fair hearing and ordered new rate proceedings before a reconstituted board.3Hartford Courant. CT Judge Rules State Agency Broke Laws, Interfered With Rights and Misled the Court Itself
Governor Ned Lamont named Thomas Wiehl interim chair in October 2025 and appointed four new commissioners, whom the legislature confirmed on May 6, 2026. With a new board willing to change how the agency operated, Eversource and United Illuminating dropped the lawsuit on May 27, 2026. The dismissal carried binding stipulations, subject to approval by Judge Elizabeth Stewart: a panel of commissioners must rule on all substantive motions, PURA must designate a presiding officer for each case, the executive secretary can no longer sign motion rulings, single-commissioner decisions on minor matters can be appealed to the full five-member panel, and all votes must be recorded and identify each participating official by name.4CT Mirror. Eversource, UI Drop Lawsuit Against Connecticut Regulators
The $45 Million Massachusetts Settlement
In December 2025, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved a $45 million settlement between Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Eversource. The agreement resolved 16 dockets going back to 2011, covering irregularities in thousands of NSTAR tree-work invoices, disputes over how pension and post-retirement costs were charged to ratepayers, and costs tied to Eversource’s 2020 acquisition of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts.5Boston Globe. Settlement Means $45 Million in Gas, Electric Customer Savings
NSTAR Electric customers were slated to receive about $20 million in credits starting January 1, 2026. Eversource Gas of Massachusetts customers were projected to see more than $25 million in annual savings once rates are reset after the Columbia Gas integration. The settlement also required that operating efficiencies realized since the acquisition flow back to customers.6Worcester Telegram. Settlement Means $45 Million in Gas, Electric Customer Savings A month earlier, in November 2025, the DPU had blocked the majority of a proposed 13% winter gas rate increase in the NSTAR territory after Eversource failed to meet performance standards.7Mass. Lawyers Weekly. Settlement Reached in Long-Running Fight Over Eversource Costs
The Maynard Gas Explosion Wrongful Death Lawsuit
In August 2024, the family of Greg Sharrigan filed a $450 million wrongful death lawsuit against Eversource in Middlesex Superior Court. Sharrigan, a 67-year-old licensed electrician from Maynard, Massachusetts, died in 2021 after a natural gas explosion destroyed his home when he went to the basement to investigate a musty smell. Investigators traced the source to a corroded, leaking underground gas line.8Boston.com. Family Sues Eversource for $450 Million After Natural Gas Explosion Kills Maynard Father
The complaint, brought by his wife Carol on behalf of his estate, alleges that Eversource failed to address pipe corrosion, repeatedly misclassified a known leak that had existed for at least three years, used unqualified employees for leak investigations, and kept unclear maintenance records. Eversource called the event an “isolated, tragic accident” and said it is working toward a resolution. The DPU investigation remained ongoing.9Law360. Eversource Hit With $450M Suit Over Fatal Gas Explosion
The Employee 401(k) Class Action
In June 2020, Eversource employees filed a class action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, Garthwait v. Eversource Energy Service Co. (No. 3:20-cv-00902-JCH), alleging that the company mismanaged its 401(k) retirement plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The plaintiffs said plan fiduciaries had loaded the plan with high fees and poorly performing investments, failed to act solely in participants’ interests, and failed to monitor other fiduciaries.10Law360. Eversource Workers Reach $15M Deal to Settle ERISA Suit11NAPA Net. $15 Million Settlement Proposed in 401(k) Excessive Fee Suit
The class covered participants between June 30, 2014, and April 27, 2023. Judge Janet C. Hall approved a $15 million settlement, and the funds have been disbursed to claimants.1211th.com. Eversource 401(k) Settlement
The Greenwashing Case That Was Dismissed
Not every consumer suit against Eversource has moved forward. In 2024, Massachusetts plaintiffs filed a proposed class action, Ortiz v. Eversource Energy (No. 24-1455), in state Superior Court, alleging the company deceptively marketed natural gas to residential customers as “clean,” “safe,” and “good for the environment,” in violation of state false-advertising and consumer protection laws.13Climate Case Chart. Ortiz v. Eversource Energy
On February 19, 2025, the court granted Eversource’s motion to dismiss. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs had not shown an injury entitling them to relief, noting that the gas rates they paid were set by state-approved tariffs and were not entirely within the company’s control. The court also found the plaintiffs had waived their unjust enrichment claim.14Columbia Law School. Climate Litigation Updates March 2025 Part 2
The Tropical Storm Isaias Fine
In August 2020, Tropical Storm Isaias knocked out power for more than 1.1 million Connecticut customers. Outages lasted up to nine days, customers could not reach the company to report downed wires, and restoration updates were scarce. PURA imposed the maximum penalty allowed by law in May 2021: a $30 million civil fine, of which $28.4 million went back to ratepayers as bill credits and $1.6 million to the state.15CT Mirror. PURA Imposes Maximum $30M Fine on Eversource
Eversource initially challenged the fine in court and then withdrew its appeal in October 2021 as part of a settlement with Governor Lamont and Attorney General William Tong.16NBC Connecticut. NBC Connecticut Investigates Story Leads to Larger Fines for Eversource
Electricity as a Product: Clemmons v. CL&P
One Connecticut ruling could shape future personal injury suits against Eversource. In Clemmons v. Connecticut Light and Power Co. (No. NNHCV-19-6109350-S), a couple sued after Eversource restored power to their property in March 2018 while downed wires from a winter storm were still on the ground, igniting a fire that destroyed their home. In April 2023, Judge Barbara Jongbloed of the New Haven Superior Court denied Eversource’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that electricity qualifies as a “product” under the Connecticut Product Liability Act once it passes through a customer’s meter. The court rejected the argument that electricity delivery is strictly a service and allowed the plaintiffs to proceed with a strict liability claim.17Biller Law Group. Victory Against Connecticut Utility Company Establishing Electricity as a Product The ultimate outcome of the case after that ruling is not publicly documented in available records.
The Columbia Gas Legacy
Some of Eversource’s Massachusetts legal exposure comes from assets it inherited rather than built. In September 2018, over-pressurization of a low-pressure distribution system during a pipe replacement project caused explosions and fires across Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover. One person died, another was seriously injured, 22 more were hurt, and about 131 buildings were damaged. Bay State Gas Company, doing business as Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in February 2020 to violating the federal Pipeline Safety Act and paid a $53 million criminal fine, the largest ever under that statute. Parent company NiSource entered a deferred prosecution agreement requiring it to sell Columbia Gas and exit the Massachusetts gas market.18U.S. Department of Justice. Columbia Gas Agrees to Plead Guilty in Connection With September 2018 Gas Explosions in Merrimack
Eversource, which Governor Charlie Baker had named temporary caretaker of Columbia Gas operations after the explosions, acquired the Massachusetts assets for $1.1 billion. The remaining legal liabilities from the disaster stayed with NiSource. Integration of those assets is what produced the ratepayer cost disputes that the 2025 Massachusetts settlement later resolved.19CT Post. Eversource to Acquire MA Gas Supplier After $53M Criminal Penalty
Other Regulatory Penalties
Beyond the cases above, Eversource and its subsidiaries have accumulated roughly $379 million in total penalties since 2000 across 73 records, according to Good Jobs First’s Violation Tracker. Utility and pipeline safety violations account for more than $200 million of that (driven largely by the Columbia Gas disaster), consumer protection violations about $98 million, and environmental penalties about $63 million.20Good Jobs First. Violation Tracker – Eversource Energy Individual actions include a $44.7 million consumer protection settlement involving NSTAR Gas and Electric in 2015, a $29 million consumer protection penalty from the Connecticut Attorney General in 2021, and a $1.8 million settlement in 2022 over allegations that Eversource used deceptive high-pressure tactics to push Connecticut consumers to convert to natural gas.21Good Jobs First. Violation Tracker – Eversource Connecticut
What’s Next: The Pending Rate Case and Storm Cost Recovery
On May 20, 2026, Eversource notified PURA that it intends to file for a $503 million annual rate increase, its first base rate case since 2018. The request would raise rates an average of 11% across all customer classes and about 13% for residential customers, with new rates taking effect in July 2027 if approved. A formal application was expected in mid-July 2026.22NBC Connecticut. Eversource Proposes an 11% Rate Increase for Connecticut Customers
In a separate proceeding (Docket No. 25-12-13), Eversource is seeking to recover more than $1.28 billion in costs from 43 major storms between 2018 and 2023. A 2025 state law authorized utilities to recover storm costs through securitization, spreading the debt into bonds with longer repayment terms and lower interest rates. A proposed final decision was expected on June 22, 2026, with a commission vote tentatively scheduled for July 29, 2026. The Office of Consumer Counsel recommended that PURA approve no more than $689.5 million of the request. If securitization is denied, the company projected that a typical residential customer’s bill could increase by $40 a month rather than $25.23Hartford Business Journal. Eversource’s $1.28B Storm Cost Pursuit Heads Toward July Decision Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said his office would scrutinize the rate application.24CT Insider. Eversource Rate Increase Connecticut Customers