Report Cites Utility’s Mismanagement

Northeast Utilities, the largest largest power company in New England, mismanaged its nuclear operations for the last 10 years and took a “hostile and arrogant approach” to the regulatory process, according to an audit report released by the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control. As an example of mismanagement, the audit cited reports from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Agency that a reactor at the Millstone power plant near Waterford, Conn., came dangerously close in 1993 to an uncontrollable accident with possible fatalities. Northeast Utilities said it disagreed with at least some of the auditors’ conclusions, and said they don’t reflect changes made since August.