Text messages between Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and Eversource chairman and CEO Joe Nolan show the utility executive repeatedly pressing the governor to step into a bitter fight with state regulators over nearly $1 billion in unpaid storm costs. The messages, which cover a dispute stretching back to 2025, show Nolan at one point floating the idea of hiring Lamont's own former chief of staff to help broker a resolution.
The texts were published by CT Insider, which reported that Nolan urged Lamont in June 2025 to “please intervene” and speed up a settlement over storm-damage costs the company had racked up from catastrophic storms between 2018 and 2023. In one exchange, Nolan asked whether Lamont thought “if we hire Jonny he can bang this out,” referring to Jonathan Dach, Lamont's former chief of staff, as a possible mediator for the standoff. Dach never received a formal offer for the role, and he went on to join Concourse in New York City in February 2026.
A CEO Under Pressure, Warning of Downgrades
The texts also show Nolan pressing Lamont not to leave town before a deal was reached, telling the governor, “Please don't leave town until we have a deal on storms. Pressure is extraordinary with downgrades,” a reference to a credit rating downgrade Eversource suffered in June 2025. As reported by the Connecticut Mirror, Nolan repeatedly urged the governor to intervene throughout the dispute.
Lamont has defended the contacts as part of the ordinary business of being governor. He said he never felt compelled to act on Eversource's behalf, even as he fielded direct appeals from the company's chief executive. The governor's office had not turned over additional communications sought under Connecticut's Freedom of Information Act as of October 8, 2026, according to the same report.
Republican Lawmaker Alleges a Cozy Relationship
State Sen. Ryan Fazio accused Lamont of maintaining a cozy relationship with Eversource's CEO, pointedly noting that he himself has never met or spoken by phone with Nolan. Lamont spokesperson Max Reiss countered that every U.S. governor must maintain a constructive relationship with the utilities operating in their state, per the Connecticut Mirror's reporting. Eversource has also employed several of Lamont's former aides, including Max Reiss, Jonathan Harris and Leslie O'Brien, though Lamont said he was not involved in discussions about hiring Dach as mediator.
Connecticut's ethics rules impose a permanent ban on former executive-branch officials representing others in matters they were personally and substantially involved in while in state service, according to a summary from the Connecticut General Assembly. The same rules require a one-year cooling-off period before former executive employees can lobby their old agency.
Regulators Split the Difference on Storm Costs
The underlying fight centers on Eversource's bid to recover costs from 43 damaging storms between 2018 and 2023. The company originally sought about $1.28 billion when it filed its application in December 2025, a figure that later grew to roughly $1.38 billion, according to the Hartford Business Journal. The state's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority ultimately found $861,478,785 in allowable costs, a figure reported by the Hartford Courant, which was reduced to roughly $668 million in net costs eligible for recovery once storm-reserve programs were applied.
PURA rejected Eversource's request to recover nearly $400 million in interest, specifically denying $396.7 million in carrying charges the company said accrued before regulators completed their prudence review. A WFSB report described the approved figure differently, putting the number at $869 million, while Nolan has described the company's recovery as $960 million, or 96% of its total request — figures that do not match across the available reporting. Eversource has said that securitizing the storm costs, a mechanism included in Senate Bill 4 allowing the company to borrow against the debt long-term, would save customers $6 to $7 a month compared with a shorter repayment period.
Eversource Says It Has Shut Off Connecticut Spending
Nolan told investors on September 30, 2026 that the company had halted further investment in the state, saying, “We just shut the faucet off in Connecticut until we get the storm cost.” It wasn't the first time Eversource had tied its Connecticut spending to the regulatory fight — the company previously cut $500 million in planned Connecticut investments over five years in 2024, citing regulatory uncertainty, and suspended new electric-vehicle charging rebates for the same reason. Nolan has said the company would not reduce safety spending but that reductions would likely come from reliability-related work.
During the same investor call, Nolan spoke about gubernatorial races in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, telling investors Eversource has good relationships with all three states' incumbent governors. The comments drew criticism from state lawmakers, according to WFSB, which reported that Eversource expects its annual investment in the state's electric system to exceed $800 million by 2029.
Lamont Points to Falling Rates Amid Criticism
Lamont has pointed to recent relief for ratepayers as evidence his administration has taken effective steps to rein in utility costs, noting that Connecticut's electric rates fell by more than 10% over the past year. He has also appointed four new commissioners to PURA during his time in office. Eversource separately completed the $2.4 billion sale of its Aquarion water utility, a transaction that required PURA's approval alongside the storm-cost recovery decision.
Claire Coleman, who leads the state agency representing utility customers before PURA, did not reach a settlement with Eversource in the storm-costs case before regulators issued their final decision. Attorney General William Tong responded to PURA's final decision on the matter in a statement posted to the Connecticut Attorney General's office. The dispute, and the governor's texts with Eversource's chief executive, remain under scrutiny as lawmakers press for more answers about the relationship between the state's largest utility and the governor's office.
