Whistleblower Convinces Regulators To Force CL&P To Prove Safety Of Waterbury Distribution System

A whistleblower who was fired by CL&P has convinced the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control that the giant utility needs to prove that its Waterbury underground power distribution system is safe.

The regulators – in a draft decision this week – said CL&P must hire a consultant to study the infrastructure.

The claims of unsafe conditions were made by William T. Billings who is accusing the division of Northeast Utilities of firing him for raising safety concerns

In his complaint to the DPUC last May, Billings said CL&P failed to install insulated connections. He also filed a complaint with OSHA.

CL&P has denied Billings’ claim.

Last September the DPUC said in a preliminary report that there was no evidence that Billings was fired in retaliation for being a whistleblower

This week’s report said:

“Mr. Billings claims that, while in the employment of CL&P as Supervisor of Distribution Lines, he and his work crew observed numerous deficiencies in the construction of the Waterbury underground distribution system, a fact which is not disputed by the Company. Mr. Billings also asserts that there remain certain issues with the Company’s construction of the underground distribution system in Waterbury. Most notably, Mr. Billings contends that:

1. In his opinion, CL&P did not install a “true crab” system as was required by the Department;

2. He did not observe any “ring buses” in any manholes he visited during the course of his employment, despite the fact that there should have been ring buses present in all of them; and

3. The vertical spacing of phases in the Waterbury underground system may, in certain locations, be inadequate and pose a safety hazard to employees or contract workers.

And CL&P said:

“Regarding Mr. Billings’ first allegation that CL&P did not install a “true crab” system, CL&P states that Mr. Billings’ assertion is based solely on his experience working on Consolidated Edison’s distribution system, and that he did not recognize the differences between Consolidated Edison’s distribution system and the CL&P distribution system, and was not expert enough on CL&P’s design to determine the proper design of the system. CL&P further notes that Mr. Billings is not an engineer and has never designed underground electric systems. Therefore, according to CL&P, Mr. Billings is not qualified to make a judgment on this matter.

CL&P also makes a similar argument regarding Mr. Billings’ allegation that no ring buses existed in manholes he inspected. In addition to asserting Mr. Billings’ lack of qualifications, CL&P states that there is ample evidence in the record to support its assertion that it installed the proper equipment associated with a Type A network configuration, including ring buses, crab-style connections and limiters. In addition to the testimony of its witnesses, CL&P also provided documented incident reports and work orders confirming that the equipment was installed where intended.

Regarding Mr. Billings’ allegation that phases were not vertically spaced, CL&P states that the available space in the Waterbury underground system often does not allow for vertical separation of the phases. The Company also states that vertical spacing is not a personnel safety issue, since personnel must observe the same work rules whether the phases are stacked horizontally or vertically. Further, CL&P asserts that the phases are bundled together for transitioning between manholes, and must therefore always be in close proximity to each other.

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