Lily Belle Poling, Contributing Photographer

English Station, an abandoned industrial factory in Fair Haven, has polluted the area’s land and water sources since its construction in the 1920s. Potential ownership changes may make the factory an even greater pollutant due to fewer regulations that now surround it.

For years, New Haven residents have demanded greater enforcement of United Illuminating’s promise to clean up English Station after the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection issued an administrative order to clean up land and water contamination in 2013. United Illuminating, or UI, manages the abandoned factory’s custodial and maintenance efforts. 

Locals have complained that state and federal authorities haven’t enforced this order strictly enough, but now, the government could lose the ability to enforce its demands to the level it could’ve before.

Iberdrola, a multinational conglomerate based in Spain, seeks to acquire all remaining shares of United Illuminating’s parent company Avangrid that it doesn’t already own — about 18 percent — which would transition Avangrid from a publicly traded company to a private one. Avangrid is also the parent company to Southern Connecticut Gas and the Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation and, once private, would face much fewer governmental obligations. This would protect them from the administrative cleanup order enforcement.

Avangrid sought approval for Iberdrola’s acquisition from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Security and Exchange Commission — or SEC — as well as from regulatory bodies in Maine and New York where it owns other utilities. 

However, Avangrid has not sought approval from any Connecticut agencies, and Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman have filed a petition with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, or PURA, requesting a state review of Iberdrola’s planned acquisition of Avangrid. 

“Avangrid’s footprint in Connecticut spans both the natural gas and electric utility sectors, serving hundreds of thousands of customers across the state, and those customers could be impacted by Iberdrola’s plan to reduce oversight of Avangrid’s activities,” Coleman said. 

In their petition, Tong and Coleman argue that the PURA has an obligation to review the acquisition out of “public responsibility” to ensure companies in Connecticut promote economic development and ensure public safety. 

If Avangrid were to become private, even less authoritative measures could be taken to address English Station’s pollution, which is detrimental to both Connecticut’s economic development and public safety. For example, English Station’s toxic contamination of the Long Island Sound makes the water a less fruitful natural resource and also threatens public health. 

Once private, Avangrid would no longer have to make filings with the SEC, nor would it have minority shareholders to check on any concerning corporate behavior. It would also no longer be subject to a 2015 requirement that four independent directors be appointed to its board. Certain SEC filings, such as the 10-K form, report companies’ development activities and their regulatory relationships. They also detail legal proceedings, such as the agreement between Connecticut and United Illuminating stipulating it contribute $30 million to remediating English Station — a stipulation UI never completed. 

After the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the transaction between Iberdrola and Avangrid, its CEO, Pedro Azagra, said the merger would “strengthen our capacity to meet the growing demand for sustainable energy solutions and further our mission to lead the transition to a cleaner energy future in the United States.”

But the merger requires Iberdrola to pay $300 million to minority shareholders, which has the potential to divert resources away from the type of investments Azagra described. 

As a public company, Avangrid has a history of dodging investments in sustainability efforts. Attorney General Tong sued the company earlier this year for its refusal to spend the necessary funds to remediate English Station. Avangrid has also refused to comply with a state order to provide credits to consumers installing home electric vehicle chargers. 

“Connecticut families are hurting right now under surging, unaffordable electric costs. We need more accountability and oversight, not less, when it comes to our public utilities,” Tong said. “Avangrid may have a Connecticut address, but we know far too many major decisions are made in Spain. This expensive maneuver diverts hundreds of millions of dollars away from Connecticut needs and extinguishes some of the last vestiges of local control.”

Avangrid could not be reached for comment. 

English Station is located at 275 Wolcott St.