Eversource says 26.4 incremental FTEs support clean‑energy programs; plans to roll some RAM‑recovered costs into base rates

During phase‑two questioning, authority staff pressed Eversource about the staffing behind Connecticut clean‑energy programs and the accounting treatment of incremental positions and labor. Brian Rice (director, customer programs) and other witnesses explained the administrative model: many program administration tasks are handled by service‑company (ESCO) employees embedded in customer operations. The company said some employees were hired after the test year used in the last base rate case and that 26.4 full‑time equivalents are treated as incremental and currently recovered in the RAM.

Rice and finance witnesses walked through the company’s approach to measuring incremental labor: employees record time on work orders and supervisors approve biweekly, and allocations change as work orders evolve between capital and expense. Jeff Torano explained adjustments may produce temporary negative internal labor balances as work orders are reallocated through the lifecycle; carrying charges are applied where appropriate when charges built into rates are reversed.

Eversource said it intends to roll pre‑existing RAM‑recovered FTEs and capital into base distribution rates in its upcoming rate case (proposed filing around July 14, 2026, with an effective date of July 1, 2027), and to conduct a final reconciliation for the interim period (January–June 2027). Company witnesses emphasized this would be done while preserving a mechanism to recover future incremental program FTEs and capital that may arise to support state policy goals.

Staff requested clarifications and late files on FTE counts, timing and the reconciliation methodology. The company agreed to provide additional detail in its rate case filing and in late exhibits to the RAM record.