<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"                      <p class=\"imgtitle\">Blumenthal</p>           HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - A utility company is earning more than it is allowed to in Connecticut, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Tuesday.<br /><br />Blumenthal is asking the Department of Public Utility Control to accept his petition for an interim rate decrease for customers of Connecticut Natural Gas, which made at least $14 million more than it was authorized to, he said, in the year period ending April 30.<br /><br />\"I demand immediate reduction in CNG rates to relieve consumers of unconscionable and unauthorized profits -- and investigation of this over-earnings debacle,\" Blumenthal said. \"In tough economic times, CNG's excess profits are unacceptable.\"<br /><br />CNG was only allowed to earn a profit of 10.1 percent, yet numbers show a 14.3 percent profit.<br /><br />Blumenthal said the law is on his side, calling for a rate review when a utility company has earned a rate of return that exceeded what it was authorized to make by at least one percentage point for six consecutive months. CNG had asked for a rate increase last year.<br /><br />\"These over-earnings unfortunately vindicate our fight against CNG's 2007 rate increase, proving that their $14 million increase was based on nothing more than smoke and mirrors,\" Blumenthal said.<br /><br />In May, Blumenthal <a href=\"http://legalnewsline.com/news/212224-blumenthal--cng-should-forgo-collecting-on-make-up-bills\" class=\"copy\">asked state regulators </a>to block CNG from collecting $1.4 million from 3,400 customers he said it illegally billed in January.<br /><br />The utility in November and December 2007 mistakenly under-billed about 3,400 customers, and CNG sought to make up for the mistake in January, sending those same consumers bills that included that month's usage plus the under-billed amounts from the previous two months. <br /><br />Because of the combined bills, consumers faced January bill that were much higher than usual, the attorney general's office said.<br /><br /><em>From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at john@legalnewsline.com.</em>"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://legalnewsline.com/stories/510519232-blumenthal-cng-at-it-again>