Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from an Eversource spokesman.

WESTPORT — Customers of the town’s electric power provider Eversource will receive credits on their bills under a $103.4 million deal brokered “following significant deficiencies in the utility’s response to Tropical Storm Isaias” in 2020, Gov. Ned Lamont has announced.

The August 2020 storm wreaked significant disruption of electric service locally and statewide.

To redress the widely criticized Eversource response to Isaias, the arrangement negotiated by Lamont and state Attorney General William Tong will provide both credits on customer bills and prevent the utility from seeking a rate increase that could take effect before 2024.

At the height of the storm, 97 percent of Eversource’s 12,200-plus Westport customers lost power, according to the town’s “After Action Report” issued a year ago. 

A tornado, which took the form of a waterspout, ripped through the Saugatuck Shores neighborhood. And “the majority of residents and businesses were left without power, cable, cellular and/or Wi-Fi service, making most of the town’s public communications and notification systems ineffective and inaccessible,” the report notes.

“Fortunately,” the report adds, “there was no loss of life or significant injuries attributable to the storm.”

But for the “vast majority” of Westport customers, restoration of power took eight days, the town report states.

Westport officials, like many others across the state, were highly critical of Eversource’s response to Isaias. 

The utility “was overwhelmed and unable to provide a timely and coordinated response. First, its communications system seemingly was unable to manage the volume of calls it was receiving. Customer service representatives were unable to provide accurate information, or in some cases, provided no information at all. 

“Secondly, Eversource was unable to provide crews to Westport in the immediate days after the storm,” the local report notes.

Credits, bill assistance detailed

Under the arrangement announced Friday, Eversource will pay a total of about $65 million to fund credits on customer bills in December and January. The average total credit will be $35, according to the announcement.

Eversource also agreed not to apply for a rate increase until at least January 2023, for rates that could not take effect until at least January 2024.

Another $10 million will be used to assist customers having difficulty paying their utility bills, the governor’s office said. All Eversource customers are currently eligible to participate in a 24-month payment plan — without fees or interest — to pay down amounts owed and to avoid service disconnection.

The latest credits will be in addition to the “performance penalty” credit Eversource customers are receiving as the result of a $28.4 million fine previously imposed by the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, state officials said.

“Our focus in this process has been on accountability to the ratepayers of Connecticut,” Lamont said in the statement. “With this settlement, ratepayers get some well-deserved relief in the short term, and in the long term they get more security that something like this won’t happen again.”

Eversource: Lessons learned

Mitch Gross, a spokesman for Eversource, said, “This settlement provides tangible relief for our customers as we continue to deal with COVID-19 and prepare for the heating season. The settlement is a reflection of our deep commitment to Connecticut.  

“We learned valuable lessons as a result of Tropical Storm Isaias and we’ve carried forward numerous improvements that have changed how we communicate during storms.” Gross said. “We are intent on winning over ‘hearts and minds’ in Connecticut by demonstrating our commitment to both customers and Connecticut leadership, at a time when we must work together to deliver a new clean energy future.”

Eversource customers with questions about future billing or eligibility for assistance should call 800-286-2828 or click here.